Alaina Lockhart

[Health, June 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to addressing this unprecedented health crisis. We will leave no stone unturned in rooting out the causes of the opioid crisis. We are monitoring advertising, assessing evidence, and seeking views on restricting opioid advertising in Canada.

We will continue to work with health professionals, experts on problematic substance use, stakeholders, provinces and territories, municipalities, and other partners to respond to the opioid crisis.

Our government remains committed to reducing harms related to problematic opioid use and addressing the epidemic of opioid-related overdoses in Canada.

[Health, June 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, our government is deeply concerned about the opioid crisis. This is a national public health crisis that is affecting Canadians across regions and from all segments of society.

Our government has taken significant actions to respond to the opioid crisis. These actions complement the Government of Canada's overall approach to drug policy, which is collaborative, compassionate, comprehensive, and evidence-based. Our government has responded through supporting a public health response, enacting new legislation, fast-tracking regulatory action, and significant new investments.

Budget 2018 proposed more than $231 million over five years and $13.5 million per year on an ongoing basis to support new cross-cutting initiatives to address the crisis. This commitment includes one time emergency funding of $150 million for provinces and territories to improve access to treatment services across Canada.

Indeed, we have moved the bar tremendously in the face of the crisis. All the actions that we have taken, including enforcement actions, are to protect and improve the health of Canadians.

For instance, we have taken action by making a greater variety of treatment options available to respond to the opioid crisis and other emergency situations. This includes the implementation of regulations to address urgent public health needs. We have also facilitated access to methadone and medical-grade heroin for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

Our response to the opioid crisis also includes significant actions to reduce harms associated with problematic substance use, for example, by making naloxone available to Canadians without a prescription.

One of the most important ways we can help reverse the trend of increasing opioid-related overdoses and deaths is by informing Canadians about the risks associated with legal and illegal opioids.

The reality is that the impact of this public health crisis has devastated individuals, families, and communities, and continues to affect far too many Canadians. Canadians are demanding that we do more to turn the tide on this crisis and that we do more to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for its role in the opioid crisis.

Our government is encouraging all organizations to take action and contribute to the response to the opioid crisis. This includes the pharmaceutical industry. I note with interest that Purdue U.S. has voluntarily decided to not promote prescription opioid products in the United States as its contribution to limiting the potential harms of opioid medications. I would like to see these kinds of actions from Canadian pharmaceutical companies as well.

In the meantime, our government is pursuing strong actions to address industry advertising of prescription opioids to health professionals and organizations. We acknowledge that the pharmaceutical industry's advertising of opioids can provide health professionals with useful information, but it can also create bias and potentially influence prescribing practices. That is why, as part of the comprehensive federal response to the crisis, the Government of Canada is exploring federal options to increase transparency of industry's marketing of opioids. All appropriate options to hold the industry accountable for its continued role in this worsening opioid crisis are being explored.

We are committed to working in co-operation with provinces and territories as well as health practitioners toward greater transparency. Ultimately, together, we will continue to bring forward solutions to save lives and address this national public health crisis.

[Firearms Act, June 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as members know, I represent Fundy Royal in New Brunswick, a largely rural area. Through the course of this discussion on Bill C-71, I have taken the opportunity to consult with many firearms owners in my riding, to understand their concerns and to feed their concerns back into this legislative process, which I found to be a very productive exercise.

Has the member across the way consulted with any domestic violence victims advocates, or with any women's groups or youth? Youth, in particular, are now in the habit of having to regularly practise lockdowns in their schools. The reality is that, even though they live in rural areas, gun regulation is very important for them. Can the hon. member share with us the consultation that she has done with other groups in her riding?

[Cannabis Act, June 18th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, one thing the member opposite mentioned in his speech was that he did not feel outreach had been done, and that we are not talking to students about cannabis. I have heard this before. I have a 15-year-old daughter in high school now, and I said to her, “Listen, I have heard from some colleagues that they are not hearing about this educational piece we are doing on cannabis. Have you heard anything about it?” She said to me that it was in her news feed all the time on all the social media forums.

I would just like to comment that we are not the audience at which this education plan is directed, so it is quite possible that my colleagues are not seeing the impact of this education in their own news feeds. However, it is happening.

How does my colleague across the way think we should best educate the students about the concerns we have with cannabis, about its proper use, and about the legislation that is coming through?

[Cannabis Act, June 18th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, one thing you mentioned in your speech is that you do not feel that this—

[Youth Entrepreneurship, June 12th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, in my role as Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Tourism, I have been fortunate to meet Canadian entrepreneurs from coast to coast to coast.

These entrepreneurs start with just an idea: an idea that they know can be innovative, one that can solve a problem, one that can tap into new markets, or one that can help breathe new life into a community. Over the last two days, I have been lucky to spend time with 25 youth from across Canada who have the drive and the passion to be entrepreneurs.

The Youth Can Do It! event, which wraps up today, brought them here to Ottawa to learn from Canadian business leaders. Their ideas, skills, dedication, and enthusiasm are inspiring.

I hope all hon. members in the House will join me in recognizing the outstanding Youth Can Do It! young entrepreneurs, including the participants who are here with us today on the Hill.

[New Brunswick Flooding, May 7th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to be here today, as my heart is in New Brunswick, where thousands have been impacted by flooding. During times of struggle, we see the hearts of a community, their true resilience and resourcefulness.

This past weekend, I worked alongside neighbours packing sandbags, saw others showing up with a truck, a pump, a shovel, a container of cookies, or their own two hands to help to try to protect memories and possessions. My New Brunswick colleagues and I would like to thank the volunteers for their tireless work: the emergency measures teams, first responders, and corporate citizens, and also the commitment of the municipal works departments, provincial employees, Premier Gallant, MLAs, mayors, and councillors. The Government of Canada stands ready to help the Province of New Brunswick. The Canadian Coast Guard has been deployed, and we are thankful for the protection it is providing on the water and in the air. I witnessed hundreds of local heroes at work this past weekend, and I have never been prouder to represent the people of New Brunswick here in this House.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things we are focused on right now in New Brunswick is how to strengthen our workforce. I mentioned the measures we are taking to strengthen the workforce with the EI system, but there are also measures in the budget that look at strengthening the workforce by making sure women are in a position to benefit from the growing economy that we are seeing in Canada.

The women's entrepreneurship strategy is one excellent example. It is $1.6 billion over the next several years, which will focus on breaking down the barriers to accessing capital, to networks, and to attaining the expertise needed. Women have wonderful ideas and have participated in our economy, but there is potential for so much more. The budget focuses on making sure they become a vital part of our economy.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for allowing me to elaborate. As I mentioned in my speech, there is in fact a pilot project that was announced for the area of Restigouche–Albert, for New Brunswick, that specifically looks at seasonal workers.

We are looking at not only giving them aid in the immediate term, but also looking at the long term, at encouraging them to return for training, to look at other areas they could improve, and strengthening our workforce.

Seasonal work is a reality in Atlantic Canada. We need to make sure that our EI system supports not only the workers, but also the employers, who are focused on maintaining that workforce and ensuring it is there for them season after season. We have put forward a plan that not only addresses the needs of the workers but also the employers.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, part of our path forward as a country and for our economy is to make sure we have an innovative economy that includes all people in Canada. That is what the budget focuses on, ensuring that Canadians have an opportunity to participate in the economy, making sure they have the skills training they require, and making sure women are in a position where they can overcome the barriers that have been there for them, not only in small business but also in trade and other areas.

It is important that we invest in Canadians at this time, and it is our Canadian people who will drive this economy forward in the future.