Mr. Speaker, given the short amount of time I have, I would like to emphasize how important it is that we respect provincial jurisdiction over health care. I will therefore address my recommendations directly to the health critic in order to hopefully improve certain aspects of the bill.
The second thing I think is especially important in the bill and that she did not mention is the importance of talking about palliative care for first nation and indigenous communities. In the previous Parliament, my colleague from Timmins—James Bay moved an opposition motion, which I seconded. That motion was specifically about ensuring that indigenous communities have access to palliative care. When we talk about the federal and provincial governments coming to the table, for example, it is crucial that first nation representatives also be included, especially since the federal government is directly responsible for those communities, and it has the power to act now.
There is basically nothing going on in the area of palliative care for first nations communities. I visited a hospice in my riding, and the people there told me they were open to the idea of creating a room for first nations individuals, a room that respects their culture and the elements they want to integrate into palliative care.
Unfortunately, the hospice does not have the funding to do so. It welcomes first nations people when the need arises, and the people in charge are willing to move forward with such a project. There are opportunities to approve specific projects for first nations people that would ensure they have access to palliative care that meets their cultural needs surrounding death and grieving.
I believe it is very important to amend the bill to reflect the specific needs of first nations people and better understand the way their culture relates to death. We have to ensure that first nations people get funding for these projects right away so they can get them going, as many first nations communities are in remote and hard-to-reach areas.
I think this is an extremely important point, and I am going to talk to the bill's sponsor about it in view of the committee's work.