Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my friend and colleague from West Nova on his appointment as Deputy Speaker.
I am sure over the course of my speech I will also echo some of the comments and sentiments from my colleagues over the past couple of days. However, they are very important and will be echoed.
It is an immense pleasure to have the opportunity to speak in the House of Commons and address my fellow hon. colleagues in the 44th Parliament of Canada in person. We are following public health measures and the science and representing our constituents in person.
It is an indescribable feeling to be standing here making my maiden speech. I would be remiss not to thank the constituents of Cumberland—Colchester for entrusting me to be their representative in this House. I thank my friends, volunteers and my family, especially my wife Deborah, my children Samantha, Allison and Zac, who have all supported me in this incredible journey.
My dear friends, I have had the opportunity to live my version of the Canadian dream. What do I mean by that? I have been able to work hard to secure an education, to find meaningful employment and to help make my community a better place. I realize this is not the version of the Canadian dream for all. However, being an elected member of Parliament allows all of us to help Canadians live their version of the Canadian dream.
For my maiden speech, I should also be talking about my background. As a young man, I grew up in a trailer park in rural New Brunswick. I joined the Canadian Armed Forces, attended medical school and had a career as a family physician for the past 26 years.
My life continues to be about serving my country, having a strong work ethic and bringing forth my constituents' triumphs and tribulations to this very floor. Sadly, the Prime Minister and my Liberal colleagues prefer to avoid these difficult questions from my Conservative and Bloc colleagues on pressing issues of inflation, continuous scandals and vaccine hesitancy of Canadians, and they hide behind a hybrid parliament. The best way to hold a government to account is to be in person and to respect the work that occurs in this institution.
The COVID pandemic began very inauspiciously for me on March 13, as my learned colleague said, in Truro, Nova Scotia. I entered an unprepared hospital, region, province, and quite frankly, an unprepared country. We have been toiling in this situation as health care workers and as all Canadians for 21 months.
In the medical world, COVID-19 was a brand new foe. Sadly, as we were so unprepared, many of us on the front lines thought we faced certain death as patients began entering our hospital on March 18, 2020. All Canadians have suffered greatly during this pandemic. We have all suffered in different ways: physically, mentally and financially.
Frontline health care workers worked overtime, and continue to do so. A regular work week as a physician was 80 hours or more. Families were separated by distance and the inability to feel the embrace of a grandchild. Seniors living in long-term care longed to be with their families, but were separated by a pane of glass.
Children were forced to go to school via Zoom and they were deprived of their friendships and their participation in sporting activities. The tourism sector was decimated and continues to remain so. We have missed birthdays, weddings, bar mitzvahs, baptisms, holiday gatherings, faith services and, sadly, funerals. We have been mandated, locked down and tested. We have been ordered, locked out and excluded.
Finally, as a nation, a great nation, it is now time to begin to emerge from this pandemic. It is time for Canada, and indeed this Parliament, to be the voice of Canada and to show our fearless leadership as we sit in person in the House of Commons.
As my hon. colleague mentioned, I have been privileged to see first-hand the enthusiasm of members meeting in person for the first time in a very long time, and hearing stories of friendships missed and open discourse thwarted by a virtual Parliament. I have heard about the mental and physical health of interpreters and the failure of technology. There is an overall sense that virtual Parliament does not work.
Once again, as I mentioned, there is no scientific data to say how great it works, even though many colleagues will say how wonderful it is. Legislatures around the world have been closed to the public; numbers of representatives have been reduced; and in extreme cases, such as in Hungary, the Prime Minister is ruling without consulting members of Parliament.
As a family doctor at heart, I am a social scientist, and we as human beings are social beings. There is a great need to interact with others in person. Indeed, as my colleague mentioned, we have seen the usual handshake replaced by other forms of contact, such as fist bumps and elbow taps.
Setting aside the incalculable effects of the lack of socialization, we are not here to socialize. We are here to work, to make laws, to consider significant issues and to lead our great country. We need to be a reflection of Canadians and also to give them hope. They have borne the burden of mandates and lockdowns, and now, as it is possible to emerge, we need to lead the way. If hon. members of the government do not intend to return to in-person work and intend to stay locked down alone at home in their slippers, the work does not get done and the benefit of vaccines is lost.
Around the world, people are envious of our position, not just the incredible opportunity afforded to us as Canadians, but as individuals who have the opportunity to return to in-person work. We know that our Liberal colleagues have attended in-person social events. We have seen many on TV and social media. Just this week, the House gathered safely to elect a Speaker and to debate the Speech from the Throne.
I have another analogy: What if all of our health care workers decided to work only virtually? I have tried it and quite frankly it stinks. Should we ask Canadians to draw their own blood, listen to their own heart sounds, insert their own chest tubes or insert their own intubation tube? I think not. Then why, we might want to ask, should we all not return to work here in the House of Commons?
We are not asking parliamentarians to take any greater risk than we ask of other Canadians who report to work every day. My learned colleague mentioned the farmers, fisher-people and other people who work with their hands. They need to go to work. Are some of us more equal than others?
It is clear to me that not being here in person allows the government to continue its reckless platform of overspending and not addressing real crises, such as housing and the floods in B.C., without having to be held accountable. Real-world issues such as the high cost of living, the censorship of the Internet and an inadequate number of workers need to be addressed, debated and solved. Instead of addressing these critical issues, the Liberal government would rather waste time questioning the validity of the House administration and questioning the integrity of medical professionals.
Canada has the highest vaccination rate in the G7. The parliamentary precinct has enforced public safety measures to ensure our members' safety. Why must we add rules to rules? Canadians are returning to work, businesses are reopening and Parliament Hill should be no exception to this reality. Millions of Canadians are unable to participate in a hybrid workspace, so why should the government believe it can receive special treatment and accommodations? Do people think that we are exempt from the same rules that everyday Canadians follow?
I realize that I am a newly elected member; however, I do not believe that the good people of Cumberland—Colchester have sent me to Ottawa so that I could sit behind a screen alone in my home or my office. They sent me here so that I would be here in the middle of the action where I can properly hold the government to account. That is what I was elected for, and the best way to do that is in person.
Canada was once an economic powerhouse, a revered nation of peacemakers, a friend to struggling nations and a beacon of hope in an otherwise dark world. This, my friends, is the Canadian dream. I implore my fellow members to do what is best for all Canadians, and that is to vote against the hybrid Parliament.