Bonita Zarrillo

[Criminal Code, May 16th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I want to talk a little bit about my riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam. There was recently a seizure of ghost guns in my riding, 3-D-printed ghost guns that can use real ammunition. The comments from the RCMP about these seizures were that, although these firearms were seized in my riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam, they had the potential to be sold and used to carry out acts of violence in any of our communities. Seizures of this nature directly impact the safety of all of us.

My question for the member is this: Is he worried about the proliferation of these 3-D-printed ghost guns, which can impact all of our communities?

[Infrastructure, May 16th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP and I heard from B.C. municipal leaders about the need for more reliable and affordable public transit in metro Vancouver. The mayors have a strong plan for necessary transit expansions, but the Liberal government is putting that plan at risk by delaying promised funding until 2026. Commuters are the ones who pay when the Liberals delay. Workers, students, seniors and people living with disabilities deserve timely, accessible transit now.

Why are the Liberals holding back this crucial funding from communities?

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2023]

Madam Chair, my colleague, the member for Vancouver East, explained this earlier today. We are losing 15 units of affordable housing while the government is trying to build one. In B.C., these above-guideline rent increases are affecting seniors who have lived in their home for 10, 15 or 20 years. How is the government going to use its housing program to ensure that people can live in stable—

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2023]

Madam Chair, does the minister know what an agreement to above-guideline rent increase is?

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2023]

Madam Chair, this is the problem with the government. It does not matter that it is saying it is spending money. It is not spending it fast enough. It is not spending it in the right places and more and more people are going homeless every day.

We are now more than halfway through the government's 10-year national housing strategy, with more than $31 billion spent, yet costs are not going down. More people are going homeless and CMHC says that we need more “financialization” of housing to solve the problem.

Does the minister agree with this statement?

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2023]

Madam Chair, here is breaking news out of UBC. A UBC report says that B.C. renters are the most likely to be evicted and 10.5% of B.C. renters are forced to move versus 5.9% in the rest of Canada.

Why and what is the minister going to do to keep people in their homes?

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2023]

Madam Chair, the thing is that the housing crisis is causing the social crisis in our communities. It is causing homelessness. It is causing opioid overdoses. It is causing social problems in our community. Although it may seem that they are not connected, they are.

I will change my questioning, though. In my riding, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment has increased by 21% in just the last year.

In Port Moody—Coquitlam, I have knocked on doors and have spoken to single mothers with children with disabilities, who have been displaced and are having to go into new rental homes because of these luxury condos that are taking away purpose-built rental.

For one woman I was speaking to recently, her rental home costs went up 50% when she had to find another house for her and her daughter. It is the same thing for seniors and persons with disabilities who no longer have access to stable rental housing in my community. People are living in cars, tents and outside in parks.

What is the government going to do to bring down the price of rent in the country? What the government is doing now is not working in my community.

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2023]

Madam Chair, I just want to mention that the money for mental health needs to be spent. As this government continues to talk about how they are going to get supply on the ground, they need to make sure that they have the social safety net as well.

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2023]

Madam Chair, absolutely absent from the debate tonight is the correlation between the market-driven luxury condo spree that has been happening in this country for years and the death of our tradespeople to the opioid crisis.

On the Government of Canada' own website, it says “Men in trades: the opioid overdose crisis in Canada”. In B.C., it said, in 2020, that men's life expectancy has been down for a third straight year based on the opioid crisis. We know that this market-driven condo frenzy that has been going on in this country for the last five years is killing men in this country and there has been no discussion about it.

Does the minister agree that there is a correlation between the death of tradespeople from opioid overdoses and this frenzy of market-driven condos?

[Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, May 15th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the minister for talking about how there really is no time to waste on this. I wanted to raise my hands to the member for Victoria for wanting to do something more around labelling. Yesterday, the news in British Columbia was talking about breast cancer. One in eight women in this country will go through breast cancer, and it is coming earlier and earlier. Now, early in their 40s, more women are getting breast cancer. For years, the government has allowed corporations to hide which toxic substances are in the products we all use. We need mandatory labelling of hazardous substances.

My question to the minister this. When will the Liberals stop siding with big corporations and start protecting human health?