House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2025, with 15% of the vote.
Business of Supply October 17th, 2023
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for bringing up today the impact the housing crisis is having on women. I had a visit yesterday from some members of Parliament from the United Kingdom, and they were saying that the mortality rate of children is on the rise in the U.K. because women cannot find housing, so I just wanted to ask the member a question.
In 1993, Brian Mulroney ended all new federal funding for social housing construction. Does the member agree with that decision?
Persons with Disabilities October 6th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, accessible transit is critical for people living with disabilities, but in this country transit is underfunded so it is not meeting accessibility demands. In my community this means that the transit authority is pushing people into taxis that do not meet their needs. Because the Liberals are holding back federal transit funding until 2026, Canadians with disabilities are being left behind.
Will the minister immediately release the public transit funding that has been promised and bring equity to transit?
World Teachers' Day October 5th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, today is World Teachers' Day. Teachers are at the front lines of creating safe and inclusive spaces for kids. Today I am sending a shout-out to all of the amazing teachers and educators in Coquitlam School District No. 43, who do just that and make a real difference in students' lives.
Port Moody—Coquitlam has benefited from teachers like Megan Leslie, who empowered her students to advocate for equity in our community. Under her care and leadership, the students of Dr. Charles Best high school have achieved free menstrual products in city facilities, the raising of the pride flag at city hall and an impactful annual red dress awareness day that has meant so much.
To all teachers and educators, I thank them. I see them and I see the amazing work they do. They deserve to be celebrated today and every day.
Red Dress Alert October 5th, 2023
Madam Speaker, yesterday was the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People. In the spring, the NDP led the call to have the House declare the continued loss of indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people as a Canada-wide emergency and to commit to providing immediate and substantial investment. This included the red dress alert.
Families and organizations such as Sisters in Spirit and the Native Women's Association are calling on the federal government to invest in this alert system to save lives. This is a matter of life and death. There is no more time to wait.
The NDP calls on the Liberal government to take this emergency seriously and immediately act on the call for a red dress alert.
Criminal Code October 4th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I know that the hon. member and I have an unfortunate situation in the Lower Mainland, which we represent, which is sextortion of children. Therefore, the timeliness of this could not be better, and it is important that we protect victims now to make sure that there are not victims in the future.
There was a study. The member said that they would like to see some data, but I understand that there was a study that came out of the justice and human rights committee, and that there was a unanimous recommendation, number 11 of that study, to amend section 486.4 of the Criminal Code to allow for victims of sexual assault to opt out of a publication ban and take back their agency. Given that this is an ask that has long been advocated by victims' rights groups, will my colleague in the Conservative Party vote to support the passing of this bill?
Persons with Disabilities October 4th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to ask for unanimous consent to make my statement over. There was some accidental walking in front of my shot earlier today. I would like to do it again.
Red Dress Alert October 4th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, today is the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People.
In the spring, the NDP led the call for the House to declare the continued loss of indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people as a Canada-wide emergency and to commit to providing immediate and substantial investment. This included the red dress alert, which would activate the public's assistance whenever an indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing.
Families and organizations such as Sisters in Spirit and the Native Women's Association are calling on the federal government to invest in this alert system to save lives. This is a matter of life and death. There is no more time to wait.
The Liberals have not done enough to protect precious lives. The government continues to fall behind in enacting the calls for justice for indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people.
Today, the NDP calls on the Liberal government again to take this emergency seriously and immediately act on the call for a national red dress alert.
Affordable Housing and Groceries Act October 3rd, 2023
Madam Speaker, the member spoke quite a bit about the Competition Act and some of the new amendments, which are welcomed, but I want to talk about what is already existing there in relation to grocery prices.
We know that Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart merged about 10 years ago, but there has not been a review of that merger, which is an opportunity that exists in the Competition Act. The Competition Bureau could certainly move forward immediately and review if that merger has been beneficial to Canadian consumers. Does the member support that initiative?
Criminal Code September 27th, 2023
Madam Speaker, I am honoured to stand here to day to represent my communities of Port Moody, Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra.
New Democrats support this bill, which would amend the Criminal Code to protect vulnerable adults. The bill would create a new offence for the owners and managers of long-term care facilities that fail to provide the necessities of life for their residents. The bill would allow the courts to make an order prohibiting the owners and managers of these facilities from working with, volunteering with, being in charge of, being in a position of trust with or being in a position of authority over vulnerable adults.
The bill is the start a conversation about the conditions of care in this country and the dignity that seniors and other vulnerable adults deserve. There is still more work to do. Today, I spoke with the Canadian Federation of Pensioners. The organization has been meeting this week in Ottawa to address the ongoing crisis of the care economy, health care and access to aging with dignity.
They sent me here today with this message. They have highlighted the following four actions that need to be addressed, even more so than the bill: ensure that funding for care is spent on care; improve the accuracy and transparency of monitoring and reporting because we need data; define profit because we need to talk about what it means to have profit in long-term care; and make revenues and expenditures for publicly funded care homes available.
We have seen that, through the global pandemic, long-term care facilities were hit incredibly hard, exacerbated by the appalling conditions in some facilities that led to the deaths of more than 14,000 residents and staff. The pandemic has shown that facilities that are for-profit do not put the needs of their residents first in every case. Reports prove that for-profit long-term care facilities have worse client outcomes than the not-for-profit facilities. Without checks and balances, corporate greed can lead organizations to prioritize their profits before the health and safety of their residents.
This month, the Office of the Seniors Advocate in British Columbia published a report that reviewed for-profit and not-for-profit long-term care facilities and their patient care. They examined how money directly impacted the quality of life for people living in long-term care. Its report found that not-for-profit facilities spent 25% more on residents in direct care than for-profit facilities. An even more unacceptable fact found in the report is that for-profit facilities delivered 500,000 fewer hours of care than they were funded to deliver. Those are hours stolen from seniors and put into the pockets of private corporations and their CEOs.
In contrast, not-for-profit facilities delivered 93,000 more care hours than they were funded to deliver. They gave more care, and that highlights not only why public long-term care facilities are more compassionate, but also that the workers in long-term care deserve to be paid for those compassion hours.
New Democrats have said many times that we will end for-profit and private long-term care. It is public health care, and it needs to stay public. The recent pandemic has shown us that for-profit companies cannot be relied upon to protect our loved ones and keep workers safe. By continuing to have for-profit long-term care with little oversight, those private investors will continue to cut corners on care and increase pressures on the health care system, putting more Canadians at risk.
Here, I need to mention the abysmal record of the Conservative government in Ontario. It continues to advance a privatization agenda for health care, which is dangerous and irresponsible.
Therefore, I want to take a moment to go back and recognize the incredible staff who work in long-term care. They face unrealistic demands and step up every day, often suffering physical and mental injury. We must do more to support staff, who continue to be pushed to the limits as they feed, bathe and care for loved ones in long-term care. Here in Canada and around the world, women, and disproportionately immigrant women, continue to do most of the care work in institutions and facilities. Pay is low and working conditions are harsh. Many of these care workers are seniors themselves.
Translating Research in Elder Care collected data for over a decade about care aides from more than 90 nursing homes in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The researchers learned that 67% of care aides are over the age of 40 and that 61% speak English as a second language. A third of them work at more than one nursing home, often because their work does not offer full-time hours or a living wage and benefits. This is the lived experience of care workers in Canada.
The government needs to stop the gender discrimination experienced by care workers and pay them appropriately. It must recognize their skills and experience. When immigrant care workers come to work in Canada, their credentials need to be recognized and they need to be compensated equally. When staff continue to be undervalued and underpaid, they suffer moral injury while trying to administer care. The government must do more to change this reality in health care and in long-term care.
Bill C-295 is a step in the right direction for protecting care and care workers, but, yes, as I have said, there is more to do. That is why Canada's New Democrats have included a safe long-term care act in the confidence and supply agreement. A safe long-term care act would address the needs and dignity of vulnerable adults, including those with disabilities, who have been let down by the current government over and over again. They have not been provided adequate housing or community supports. This reality is unacceptable.
In closing, the government should move immediately on tabling a safe long-term care act. The NDP is ready to make that a reality.
Affordable Housing and Groceries Act September 26th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for bringing up the merger between Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart. I am sure the member knows now that bread is also for sale at Shoppers Drug Mart.
If the member knows that Loblaw has 40% of the market share on bread, why have the Liberals not tried to break up these monopolies?