Debates of Feb. 16th, 2023

Business of the House

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the government House leader could update members as to the business for the rest of this week.

Also, as members of Parliament go off and enjoy Family Day in many parts of the country with their loved ones, as well as get back to work in their constituencies, could the government House leader update the House as to what we can expect with respect to legislation when we return from those constituency work weeks?

While I am on my feet, because his own colleague asked members of the Conservative Party to read the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, I was wondering if you would allow me to table the report, especially the part that says that most households will see a net loss resulting from federal carbon pricing under the Liberals' plan.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed to the hon. member's moving the motion will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's very sincere effort, I am sure, to lay that on the record. I am sure he is in shock that there was not unanimous consent. However, my hon. colleague can rest assured that, when it comes to climate change, we will not allow inaction to be the rule of the day and that we will absolutely continue to take action to make sure climate change does not ravage this planet.

I do want to pick up on the second-last comment that the hon. opposition House leader made, which were comments with respect to Family Day. I hope that he, and indeed all members in the House, take time with their families and with their constituents, and that they return to this place in good health.

Tomorrow, we will resume debate on Bill C-34 to amend the Investment Canada Act at second reading.

Upon our return on Monday, March 6, we will call Bill C-27 on the digital charter, at second reading.

Tuesday shall be an allotted day.

On Wednesday, we will commence debate on Bill C-33 concerning the port system and railway safety.

Thursday will not only be the opportunity for my hon. colleague's favourite time of the week, another Thursday question, but we will also resume debate on Bill C-23 respecting historic places, at second reading.

On Friday, we will continue second reading debate of Bill C-26, the cybersecurity legislation.

The House resumed consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Public Health Care Funding and Delivery

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, with limited time left in my speech, I want to highlight a couple of key points. One is the need for this injection of investment of almost $200 billion to support our health care system. Where I left off was that constituents in my riding have spoken about these needs in terms of mental health supports, supports for stroke survivors, support for family doctors and specialists, investments in long-term care and reducing emergency room wait times. Constituents wrote to me about the need for all of these supports and also for supports for personal support workers.

They also they spoke about transparency and accountability for these funds. This is incredibly important. It is why I am glad that, in these conversations with premiers and provinces and territories across the country, there are going to be action plans so that Canadians will be able to see what the plan is for using this funding. Then Canadians will be able to track that money, to see where it is being spent and whether it is effectively reducing wait times and supporting our health care sector.

This accountability is something that Canadians across the country have been asking for. We want to be there as a support and a partner to get our health care system back on track, but we are going to do so while making sure Canadians know exactly where these funds are being spent.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Madam Speaker, I find it interesting. The government has failed over the last eight years, and certainly we have heard multiple times about provincial jurisdiction.

We also heard the Liberal Prime Minister talk very clearly in the House about the 7,500 doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners he was going to hire for Canada. I heard the member mention again today the federal support for doctors. I was in that sector for a very long time. Where are the 7,500 doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners? How many have the Liberals actually hired and when is this going to happen?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am surprised that the member opposite does not realize that a $200-billion investment over the next 10 years is going to do just that. The Conservatives said that they support our funding, and they did not provide anything in addition, so perhaps the member should speak to his leadership.

The Conservatives do not have a plan. They do not offer a solution. All they know how to do is criticize. It is no wonder the Conservatives keep asking us to move out of the way. They cannot win elections on their policies.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, this motion calls on the government to close loopholes in the Canada Health Act. One of the most egregious of these is that while the Canada Health Act prohibits extra billing, which means doctors are banned from charging patients more than the medicare rate for insured services, private clinics get around that by advertising and offering surgery to patients from a different province whom they then charge tens of thousands of dollars. This loophole needs to be closed.

Does my hon. colleague think that her government should agree with the NDP that the Canada Health Act must be amended so that provinces can no longer permit the odious practice of allowing the charging of patients for covered insurance services simply by allowing their citizens to cross a provincial border to get that surgery?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, our commitment to a universal, public health care system is paramount. In fact, I support our proposals that ensure that all one needs is a health card, not a credit card, to receive health services.

However, let me remind the House that, since 2015, it was our government that has levied $105 million in health transfers. We held back for violations by provinces and territories for not providing the health care services under the act.

We are going to uphold the act and ensure provinces and territories allow public health care to thrive in our country.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member for Vancouver Kingsway brought up a really important point with respect to a loophole that can be exploited in the Canada Health Act when it comes to provincial borders being manipulated for a person not to get access to public health care.

Could the parliamentary secretary directly answer the question that was just asked?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, this is jurisdictional health care with provinces, and it is our role as a federal government to ensure that the Canada Health Act is upheld. If there are changes and things need to happen, it is precisely why we are having a debate. It is why the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Minister of Health are meeting with their counterparts across the country to discuss the very important issues that Canadians want to see fixed in our health care system. That is why we are leading in this charge to ensure we are getting the results in the health care system that Canadians expect.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, we just had the recent announcement from the federal government of the $198 billion-plus to ensure that future generations will have a national health care plan, and now the provinces have signed on to that.

Could my colleague provide her thoughts on that?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity. As Canadians, we have such a sense of pride in our health care system, but after the pandemic, we saw that struggle and the system needing help. The federal government is stepping up with almost $200 billion to fix those gaps so future generations can ensure they have the adequate health care they need no matter how much they make or where they live.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I wish my colleagues a good afternoon.

I am very pleased to rise in the House today to speak on the recently proposed offer to provinces and territories regarding the federal investments in our health care system, an offer that I am pleased to say provincial and territorial premiers signalled their agreement to work on this plan on February 13.

I think that is good news, and I want to point it out. It is good news for all Canadians. It is good news for Canadians in London West.

Canadians value our universal public health system, but the COVID-19 pandemic has put it under enormous strain. Across the country, Canadians struggle to find a family doctor or to access urgent care when they need it the most.

Canada's health care workers, who have been at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 for nearly three years now, continue to provide care under extremely challenging circumstances. I want to take this opportunity to thank them for their courage, compassion and the enormous dedication they bring to the work they do every single day. We owe it to them and to all Canadians to take the necessary steps to ensure that our health care system is more efficient and resilient now and into the future.

I had the pleasure of having a beautiful conversation with someone in my riding who came to talk to me about the health care system and its state right now. He told me how 20-some years ago his family moved to Canada because of our health care system. He impressed upon me how important it was for us to continue to put the safeguards in that were necessary to ensure that provinces and territories were abiding to the Canada Health Act.

The federal government has to and will continue to work with provinces and territories in the best interest of all Canadians, their families and the health workers to deliver concrete results and improvements to the health care system.

On February 7, the Prime Minister and his provincial and territorial counterparts met to work together on improving Canada's health care system.

They discussed shared health priorities to deliver real results for all Canadians. They also discussed the importance of upholding the Canada Health Act to protect Canada's publicly funded health care system, which is important to all Canadians.

This act ensures that Canadians have equitable access to medical care based on their needs, not their ability to pay.

The federal government will increase health funding to provinces and territories by $196 billion over 10 years. In addition, it will invest $2.5 billion over 10 years in complementary federal support, for a total of $198.6 billion over 10 years. This includes new funding in the amount of $49 billion over 10 years, $46 billion of which will be transferred directly to the provinces and territories. This funding will be distributed through the Canada health transfer, tailor-made bilateral agreements with provinces and territories, an Indigenous health equity fund and complementary federal support.

We offered provinces and territories $25 billion over 10 years to advance shared health priorities through tailored bilateral agreements that would support the unique needs of people in each province and territory.

At the working meeting with the premiers, we also outlined four key shared health priorities.

The first is for Canadians to get rapid access to a family medicine practitioner or team, including in rural and remote areas. Family medicine teams and virtual care will play a key role in ensuring that all Canadians have timely access to quality care in their community.

Second, is the support for health care workers to provide Canadians with timely access to the quality, effective and safe health care they need. We need to retain, recruit and train new health workers, recognize credentials of internationally educated health professionals and leverage new models of care and digital tools to better support health workers. This is really important in London West as many supporters have talked about how we need to continue to leverage the credentials of foreigners.

We want to make real progress with provinces and territories to improve the labour mobility of health professionals, starting with multi-jurisdictional credential recognition.

The third is improved access to timely, equitable and quality mental health and substance use services.

Mental health is very important to all Canadians, and it is important that we make investments that will make a difference across the country.

This morning, I had the opportunity to make an announcement with the Minister of Mental Health. I also had the opportunity to have a conversation with someone who was working on the front line of supporting young people in mental health.

In hearing the stories of how they are adapting to support trauma-informed practices that help young people get the supports they need is mental health, it is important to recognize that more than ever Canadians need mental health supports. This goes for workers too. We need to ensure there are resources for the providers as well.

The fourth is a modernized health system that is essentially supported by data and digital technologies. Data and being able to securely share this data across the country with providers and systems will be critical to saving lives and improving our health care system across the country.

We will continue to help Canadians age with dignity closer to home thanks to better access to home care or care in a safe long-term care facility. We have already announced investments to advance this priority.

The new funding announcement made on February 7 also includes an additional $1.7 billion over five years to support wage increases for personal support workers and related professionals. I have heard that this is really needed, and many people in my riding have spoken to me about this.

The plan offers flexibility for provinces and territories to respond to their unique needs and priorities. A key feature of this plan is also recognizing that data is integral to well-functioning, modern health care systems. Improved data and digital health can empower patients and enable clinicians to provide safer and better care.

Right now, only one-third of Canadians can access some of their health data online. That is unacceptable. We have to keep working on this.

We are prepared to measure and report annual progress on the common indicators with disaggregated data and we have asked provinces and territories to do the same as part of their data commitment. Reporting to Canadians will promote greater transparency on results. I want to emphasize this data sharing will respect provincial, territorial and federal privacy legislation to protect Canadians' privacy and benefit their care.

We recognize the importance of disaggregated data in making decisions that fit the unique needs of each community.

It is a pleasure for me to be in the House and to see this happen, as we continue to have these conversations around health care systems with the provinces. Our constituents continue to talk about this. We want to ensure that we are doing the right thing, that we are protecting our health care system and that it is not based on how much money one makes but based on having a health care card.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague and neighbour in London West spoke about the $49 billion extra funds coming to the provinces. Of course, that is spread over 10 years and it is spread over the provinces.

In our city, London Health Sciences is asking for an additional plan of $3 billion, and $300 million of that will fall to the city because of a lot of the downloading. We talked about downloading from the federal government to the provinces and provinces to the municipalities. I would like her to respond about the specific ask from London, the need and how this money could go to help that institution.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from London—Fanshawe for her question.

The question is really important, because this is a conversation we continue to have with different health care providers across the city of London. As I stand in the House today to speak on behalf of London West, our government will continue to ensure that we protect the Canada Health Act and that the money that goes to the provinces also reaches every community. This is an ongoing conversation, and I am happy to see that the provinces and territories are at the table having this conversation right now.

[Chad Collins, Liberal, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Madam Speaker, in her speech, the member touched on the tremendous pressure that health care workers have been under, especially through the pandemic and leading up to today and the announcement of this investment.

What does this mean to health care workers in her riding as it relates to relieving some of the pressure they have been under for the last number of years?

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I had a conversation with someone who has been on the front line supporting mental health for young people in the city of Ottawa. As we increase the wages for health care providers, it is important that we talk about supporting the mental health of providers as well.

I had conversations with many care providers in London, Ontario, who told me that they need that kind of support. Investing in mental health for Canadians even goes to supporting the providers of that health care. It is important that we also keep them in mind as we continue to invest in our health care system.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Madam Speaker, my colleague talked about funding for health care.

We all know that the provinces were calling for $28 billion per year, but the government only put $4.4 billion per year on the table. Therefore, the government is giving the provinces only $1 for every $7 they asked for.

I have two questions for my colleague. Does she think that $1 out of every $7 the provinces were calling for is enough? I would like her to explain why she thinks that the provinces' initial requests were unreasonable.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I think that a health care system that works for all Canadians is a good system. We had the opportunity to hear from all of the provincial leaders, those from Quebec, Ontario and all over. These discussions are ongoing.

We want to invest in a health care system that works for everyone. That is why even the provincial leaders decided to come to the table and agreed to work with us. It is important that we continue to support everyone in the country with a health care system that works for all Canadians, including Quebeckers.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member for London West is a powerful advocate for mental health.

I wonder if she could clarify this. The governing party had previously committed to a $4.5-billion dedicated mental health fund. Is that still a commitment from the governing party, in light of the announcement we heard a few weeks ago?

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for mentioning the mental health advocacy that I continue to do, for people in not only London West but also across the country.

I believe that supporting the mental health and well-being of Canadians, especially young Canadians, is really important. I also just talked about how important it is to support the providers as well, and to give resources to care providers so they have the support they need to be able to continue to do that work. That is where a government—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Burnaby South.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Vancouver East.

New Democrats have a vision for health care. We believe that health care should be there for people when they need it, that hospitals should be properly staffed and that workers always have the time to listen and to care for patients. We believe that nurses, doctors and frontline health care workers should be respected, and we should have enough of them so that we do not have to wait.

New Democrats and I believe that people should get surgery as soon as they need it and not just when they can afford it. We believe that no one should have to avoid going to a doctor because they cannot afford to pay for it out-of-pocket. The reality is that is not how things are in this country.

After seven years under the Prime Minister, health care is certainly struggling. Parents are worried about the state of health care. They are anxious to leave their homes with their little ones, because they are worried they will not be able to be seen in time if they get sick. People are waiting for hours in crowded emergency rooms.

They are waiting so long for surgery that they are losing their quality of life. There are horrible examples of private companies exploiting the desperation of Canadians. Canadian Surgery Solutions is draining surgeons out of hospitals and is taking advantage of people's pain by charging them $30,000 per surgery. Maple, a corporation owned by Loblaws, has poached doctors out of family practices so they can charge people up to $70 for a visit with a family doctor.

Nothing in the world is more important to us all than the health of our children and our loved ones. While people are waiting for hours in pain, the Prime Minister is letting us fend for ourselves. While health care workers are exhausted and working endless hours of overtime, while they are leaving the profession in droves, the Liberals have offered a health care accord that does not allow an increase in the number of positions.

While cash-for-care corporations, like Canadian Surgery Solutions and Maple, charge people for health care and bleed nurses and doctors out of our public system, the Liberal government turns its back and pretends not to see.

In 2021, it was a very different story. The Prime Minister campaigned against for-profit care and said that it would threaten our public health care system. He warned that voting for the Conservatives would open up the door to more for-profit care, and that would be a problem, because the bottom line would matter more than patient care. However, time and time again the Prime Minister says one thing and then does the opposite. He flip-flops. He breaks his promises.

Conservative premiers are now on a mission to privatize and monetize our Canadian health care system, and the Prime Minister is giving it the green light. He says it is a good thing to do. He flip-flopped so fast that his own party members did not get the updated talking points.

Let me quote a couple of Liberal MPs. The Liberal MP for Don Valley East said, “Doug Ford's push for private health care is so wrong. It brings USA style healthcare to Canada by putting those who can pay at the front of the line.”

The Liberal MP for Humber River—Black Creek said, “this is absolutely erosion of our health-care system as we know it. And the introduction of privatization is where we're going.... If we don't have enough nurses, and doctors today, you're going to have even less in the public system.”

In fact, the former health minister of the Liberal government, Jane Philpott, said that what is happening right now is a clear “violation to the Canada Health Act.”

What is the Prime Minister doing about this clear violation of the Canada Health Act? What is the Liberal government doing? They are doing nothing.

When the Prime Minister had a chance to stand up for health care, he stood down. It is no surprise that, true to form, the Conservatives are absolutely for this for-profit scheme. They believe in starving our health care system of the appropriate funding to bring in the for-profit vultures to exploit our health care system and to exploit the desperation of Canadians. The Conservative leader and the Conservative premiers are taking a page directly out of the same old Tory playbook: underfund public services, starve our public health care system, then claim it is broken all of a sudden and hand it over to the private sector.

We are at a watershed moment in Canadian health care. People are facing painfully long wait times in emergency rooms and to receive surgeries, and so many Canadians cannot find a family doctor, while the Prime Minister pretends this is okay. He does that, because for his friends it is okay. Meanwhile, the Conservative leader is cheering it on and saying to bring in more for-profit care, starve our public system and hurt people.

The Conservative leader rages, because he wants to tear it all down. It is his goal to tear down our health care system. He says it is broken. Tear it down and bring in even more for-profit care. The truth is that our health care system is getting worse. However, it does not have to be this way. This is the result of choices. We can choose differently.

We can invest in our health care system and fund more frontline health care workers, like nurses and doctors, and turn things around. We can rebuild a world-class public universal health care system. We have a choice. We can stop the for-profit system from cannibalizing our hospital workers and our emergency room workers, or we can allow the American-style for-profit U.S. private health care system to flourish.

We can staff up our hospitals, or we can allow corporations to staff up their companies. We believe, very clearly, that we need to invest in people so that the care we need is there for us when we need it, not when we can afford it. We can train more nurses and more doctors here in Canada. We can respect and hire workers. We can recruit them. We can add nurses to every shift so they are not run off their feet. We can pay health care workers what they deserve.

We can give licences to practise to health care workers who trained abroad, are already here and are ready to get to work.

We can invest in improving home care and long-term care so that our parents and grandparents do not spend months in hospital beds waiting for a spot.

Finally, we can invest in mental health so that people can get the care and treatment they need.

Every member of Parliament now has a choice to make. They can choose where they stand. New Democrats know where we stand: We stand with families who are worried that if they rush into the ER, they are not going to have a doctor or nurse to look after their baby right away.

We stand with everyone who needs a family doctor and the people who wait at clinics for hours and hours just to get their prescriptions filled. We stand with frontline health care workers, people who deserve better workloads, a better work-life balance and more respect.

We stand with everyone waiting for surgery. These people need more health care workers. They do not need more for-profit companies cannibalizing the workers from our hospital system. They need us to rebuild and expand public hospitals, family health teams, long-term care and home care.

What the New Democratic Party would do differently right now is work with the provinces to train and hire more nurses, doctors and primary health care providers. We would work with the provinces to recognize the credentials of nurses, doctors and other health professionals that have studied and worked in other countries. We would be a better partner in stabilizing health care, cutting wait times and making sure care is there for people when they need it.

I urge all members of the House of Commons to think of the families in their communities, vote in support of this motion and defend our universal public health care system.