Marlene Catterall

[Budget Implementation Act, April 15th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is about implementing the budget delivered in the House on February 23, which implements many of the commitments made to Canadians by the government during the last election campaign and which were reaffirmed and expanded on in the Speech from the Throne. The budget is about planning for the future. What is going to be done to make this a better country, to make our communities better and to make life better for all Canadians?

I want to talk today about the fastest growing segment of our population and that is people over the age of 65. In particular, my riding has the third highest proportion of seniors of any constituency right across Canada, second only to Victoria and St. Catharines.

Measures in the budget to make seniors' lives better are extremely important. That is why I want to offer one comment on their behalf to the member who just spoke, because part of planning for the future is paying off one's debt. The seniors I speak about this morning have lived a long time. They have owned homes, they have had mortgages and they know the value of paying off one's debt or credit cards and saving on interest, which the opposite side seems not to understand. Perhaps opposition members prefer to see us continue to have rising interest payments rather than paying off debt and saving $3 billion a year on interest payments, which is money that we can invest in programs that are important for our citizens.

Obviously for many seniors who raised their families and grew old through much more difficult times than we are experiencing in this country today, enough to live on with dignity and comfort in retirement is extremely important. That is why a number of measures in the budget are very important to seniors.

For one thing, the guaranteed income supplement that goes to any Canadian senior below a certain level of income is increasing for the first time since 1984. There have been annual increases to cover the cost of living, but for the first time in 21 years there is an increase in the budget to the basic amount of guaranteed income supplement. That will benefit single seniors to the extent of $400 a year and couples by $700.

In total, that is an amount of $2.7 billion being dedicated to our lowest income seniors. The amount of $2.7 billion happens to be coincidentally close to the amount we are saving on interest payments every year because of the debt repayment that the government has made with its surpluses.

The other important thing for seniors on low incomes is increasing the basic income tax deduction to $10,000. When fully implemented, this will take 240,000 low income seniors totally off the tax rolls of Canada.

As people live longer, they are also staying more active. That is why the new horizons program is very important. In my riding there are numerous volunteer organizations, many of them run by seniors themselves. They provide programs and activities and get people out of their homes and involved with the community. I am pleased to note that we will be more than doubling the new horizons program in the next two years from $10 million to $25 million, allowing for more programs for seniors, more activities and more involvement with the community.

Many seniors are not so lucky and in fact need caregiving either by family or somebody else outside the home. That is a very expensive thing for families or for the seniors themselves. This budget doubles from $5,000 to $10,000 the amount that can be deducted in regard to the costs to provide the care for someone who needs it, care that costs money.

Increasingly this population will require special measures in a large number of areas. It will be an ever more significant part of the population of Canada. That is why establishing an national seniors secretariat to look at the ongoing and new needs of seniors is extremely important. I mentioned that many seniors stay much more active, much longer, but living longer also means more health problems such as mobility and eyesight. What we have invested in health care is also extremely important to seniors.

I know there is a lot of skepticism about whether the additional nearly $100 billion since 2001 we are giving to the provinces for health care is going to really make a difference. The difference this time is we have agreed targets with the provinces for improving wait times by two years from now. That amount of money also contributes to ambulatory and community care for people who need it, that includes a lot of seniors. The focus is very much on those diseases and conditions that affect seniors such as joint replacement, cancer, heart problems, and ensuring that diagnosis and treatment is available faster.

However, just as important is the money we are investing in public health. If we need more and more health care and treatment of illnesses, which does happen with an aging population, one of the ways to keep our public health care system sustainable is to ensure we do everything possible to keep Canadians as healthy as possible. In a couple of weeks I will be holding a forum in Ottawa West--Nepean with the Minister of Public Health to get the ideas from our community on how we keep all our citizens healthier, our children, our families, our seniors.

Seniors also benefit by the new money that will go to communities and cities, through forgiving the GST and transferring an increasing portion of the gas tax to municipalities. For seniors living in their own homes, property taxes can be a huge burden. They may have wonderful old homes, but their incomes have not kept up with what is required from them in the way of taxes. By transferring $600 million this year, and that goes on every year, increasing to $2 billion by the year 2010 to our cities, that will relieve the demands they have to put on property taxpayers to pay for things like roads, clean water, sewers, parks and recreation programs. That directly benefits seniors who often have the hardest time paying higher property taxes.

However, seniors care about more than their own interests. They have also worked very hard and sacrificed a lot to educate their sons and daughters. They want to be sure that their sons and daughters can use their education in their jobs and careers and that their grandchildren or great-grandchildren will be well looked after. That is why the national child care program is also important for seniors. It allows their children to live the lives that they have educated and raised them for and to live the most productive lives they can.

I want to also mention that seniors want the best possible lives for their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In the budget money has been dedicated toward cleaner water, cleaner land and cleaner air. A planet that we can survive on is also important for seniors. They know and I know that long after we are gone, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be living with the decisions we make today on how to protect the environment of our world. That is one element of the budget that I am extremely proud of as well.

On behalf of the many seniors who I represent, while there is not everything in the budget I would like to see, there is a great deal there that will make life better for seniors in Canada.

[Civil Marriage Act, March 21st, 2005]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak on the legislation on civil marriage. It goes to the very heart of our values as Canadians to end discrimination against each other, to treat individuals with equality and particularly to ensure that the law treats every person with equality.

As I have considered this issue, I have been heavily influenced by an important lesson I learned many years ago from my daughter. Karen was only nine when she first heard about the terrible treatment suffered by Canadian citizens of Japanese origin: how homes had been seized, families separated and men and women interned.

She was obviously disturbed by learning how these individuals and families had suffered and finally said, “Mom, what really bothers me is that maybe if I had been alive then I would have thought it was okay”. That moment has given me a principle which has been a guide for many of my life and political decisions.

Will this decision stand the test of time? Will generations to come look back on what we do today with shame or with approval?

There are many periods in our past which we can only look back on and wonder that our leaders of the time could have thought those things seemed okay. Usually they involved discrimination against a minority, often out of fear and often out of contempt for a group of fellow citizens, our fellow human beings, who were regarded as inferior and not quite worthy of the same treatment as the majority.

We interned Canadians of Ukrainian origin during the first world war. We imposed a head tax on Chinese immigrants and then excluded them entirely. We interned Canadians of Italian origin during World War II. These are times we can only look back on with dismay and wonder that they seemed okay at the time.

When Canada closed its doors to Jews fleeing persecution and almost certain death in Nazi Germany, this was surely one of our darkest moments, yet it appears that these actions were considered okay at the time.

We have discriminated based on race. We have discriminated based on ethnicity. We have discriminated based on religion. There was even a time when Roman Catholic marriages were not considered legal in Canada. Jewish marriages were not considered legal. It was considered okay that women were persons under the law in matters of pains and penalties, but not in matters of rights and privileges.

What a debt of gratitude we owe to five brave and determined women who challenged the prevailing opinion and the law of the time to establish the full personhood of women. How much we owe to those who ignored dire predictions of social upheaval and fought for the right of women to vote. How much we owe to those who worked to change the accepted rules of the time that women had to quit their jobs when they got married or pregnant.

In Quebec for much of its history it was considered okay that a francophone Quebecker, no matter how capable, had virtually no chance of becoming the manager, vice-president or president of the company he or she worked for.

Because we looked back on our history and saw the injustices that were done, we adopted a Canadian Human Rights Act. We adopted a Charter of Rights and Freedoms and enshrined it in our Constitution to protect minorities against arbitrary treatment, even from Parliament and the legislature.

Throughout history homosexuals too have faced contempt and discrimination, forced to live secret lives lest they be ostracized, fired or evicted from their homes. There was a time in Canada when homosexual relations were subject to the death penalty, and until the 1970s they were a criminal offence. Until very recently, a man or woman could be denied compassionate leave or pension benefits because a partner of many years was not of the opposite sex.

I understand that it is difficult for some to accept that a man can love another man or a woman another woman as most of us love someone of the opposite sex, yet the bond between two people of the same sex can be as profound, as committed and as life fulfilling as any heterosexual union.

Many protest that marriage is for procreation. If that were the case, I should not be allowed to marry at my age nor should many who are unwilling or unable to have children.

I reviewed my marriage vows. They did not say anything about procreation. What I promised was to love, honour and cherish my husband exclusively, through good times and bad, for the rest of our lives. For two people of the same sex who love each other enough to make such a profound public commitment to seek in each other fulfilment and completion, I say welcome to one of our most important social institutions: marriage.

I believe this decision will stand the test of time, that generations to come will approve of our including our fellow human beings fully and equally in the life of our country and our society.

Having carefully considered the views of my constituents on both sides of this issue, I intend to support the bill. It is consistent with my values as a Canadian and as a human being to treat every other human being with respect, with dignity and with love.

[Committees of the House, February 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage concerning CBC Radio-Canada programming goals and objectives.

[Social Development, February 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Social Development. Early childhood is an essential time for children to develop confidence and a strong sense of identity.

Access to quality daycare services in French is critical for children of minority francophone families.

In the discussions that he will soon be having with the provinces on a national daycare program, will the minister ensure that any agreement takes into consideration the need to provide services in both official languages?

[Government Programs, December 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, as everybody knows, accountability for how well we spend our citizens' money is very important. I understand Treasury Board will soon be considering an accountability framework for every government department. Will the minister ensure that the accountability frameworks include a gender based analysis to ensure we are delivering programs equally well for men and women?

[Violence Against Women, December 6th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, today we recognize the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

It is 15 years since 14 women lost their lives at the École polytechnique de Montréal.

Yet 15 years later, at this very moment across Canada, women are experiencing the obscenity of brutality. Canadian women continue to see their lives ended by senseless acts of violence.

I want to pay tribute to Nelson House in my riding, and to all those shelters and services that help women and their children escape violence, and all the people who continue to work to end this scourge in our society.

[Committees of the House, December 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, three reports from the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage: the fourth report on the supplementary estimates (A) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2005 and report the same; the fifth report on Bill C-18, an act to amend the Telefilm Canada Act and another act; and the sixth report concerning the certificate of appointment of S. Wayne Clarkson to the position of executive director of Telefilm Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I must say that the committee applauded Mr. Clarkson after coming to its conclusion on his competence and ability to serve as executive director of Telefilm Canada. The reports are all signed.

[Community Wheels Program, November 25th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this month I had the privilege of attending at Turpin Pontiac Buick car dealership the presentation by General Motors of Canada of six vans to volunteer community organizations in this city.

This is part of GM's Community Wheels Program through which it is making its vehicles available to charitable organizations in communities across Canada. Picking up the cost of gas, insurance and maintenance, GM is making it possible for voluntary organizations to provide better services to seniors, youth, singles, and to those in need in our communities.

I want to congratulate General Motors, the United Way, which is handling the distribution of these vehicles, and all the voluntary organizations that I know are going to make excellent use of them.

[2004 Grey Cup, November 22nd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure today to congratulate the organizers of the 92nd Grey Cup festivities in Ottawa.

The nation's capital welcomed football fans from across the country in what turned out to be a truly festive Canadian experience. When we have Canadians from coast to coast to coast picking their favourite teams, cheering them on and all joining in this great Canadian tradition, that is truly a remarkable situation.

Kudos to the Canadian Football League, to Brad Waters and the Renegades Football Club, to the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau, to our service clubs, volunteers and organizations for being great hosts, and to the NCC for turning on the Christmas lights early.

Congratulations mostly to the B.C. Lions and the 2004 Grey Cup champions, the Toronto Argonauts.

[Committees of the House, November 19th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on the order in council appointment of Robert Rabinovitch to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.