Mr. Speaker, in 2017, I stood in Centre Block and I talked about suicide in my territory. I also called on leaders with power and the ability to make change. I got tired of waiting, so here I am.
My territory has held the very unfortunate title of having the highest suicide rate in the country for years. We are looking at basic human rights. When I am talking to my constituents, that is the first conversation that comes up.
How do we talk about opportunity and having the option to thrive and strive, as we should as Canadians, when we do not have basic human rights? When will the government step up and provide housing for my constituents to be able to live and feel safe? When will the government step up and eliminate our boil-water advisories? When will the government step up and lower living costs so that people can afford to feed themselves and their families?
This is a conversation that has been going on for decades. I hope that by the end of this term we can talk about post-secondary opportunities and child care spaces.
The government needs to step up. These are our Canadians. These are our constituents. This is my riding. These are my people. These are our people. We need to step up and treat them as Canadians, which we all know. We are so proud to be Canadian, but where are our basic human rights?