Christine Moore

[National Strategy for Dementia Act, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely pleased to speak to the bill introduced by my colleague from Nickel Belt, which seeks to establish a national strategy for dementia. This is particularly important for me as a nurse. I believe that this bill reflects a reality that we will have to face.

In order to understand how vitally important it is to have a national strategy for dementia, we need to understand that the population is aging. The number of Canadians with dementia is growing in tandem with the growing number of seniors. Although there is such a thing as early onset dementia, this disease mainly affects the elderly.

Right now in Canada, 740,000 people have Alzheimer's or a dementia-related disease. However, by 2031, this figure is expected to double to 1.4 million Canadians. In my region of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 15.8% of the population was 65 or older in 2013. In 2031, 28.8% of the population will fall into that age category. Obviously, Alzheimer's and other types of dementia will be more widespread in a region like mine. It is therefore vital that we combine our efforts to develop a strategy to address this phenomenon, since it will take up a large share of regional health budgets and will become a growing concern for regional authorities.

Furthermore, it is important to better recognize the importance of prevention in order to identify early symptoms and intervene quickly. A strategy for dementia should be based on maintaining brain health and on preventing the illness among those who are particularly susceptible to it. Many studies have shown that some memory exercises can slow the disease's progression. However, if we wait too long to intervene such measures are not as effective.

The health system currently does not have the resources required to address this phenomenon. The problem could become overwhelming if we do not change our approach and if the federal government continues to neglect provincial transfers.

Direct and indirect medical expenses, such as the loss of income, currently total $33 billion a year. This could rise to $293 billion a year. We must create an integrated health system where we implement best practices to ensure that we treat these illnesses and provide community support.

The phenomenon of dementia is unique because those who suffer from this disease are primarily looked after by family caregivers. In 2011, family caregivers spent 444 million unpaid working hours providing care. This translates to $11 billion in lost income, or the equivalent of 227,760 full-time employees. It is therefore vital, when considering a national dementia strategy, to consider the circumstances of family caregivers. In many cases, dementia is an illness that develops slowly. People remain in their surrounding environment for a very long time.

The person's family members end up having to spend more and more time keeping him or her healthy and safe in his or her environment. This is extremely exhausting. Spouses can easily spend 10 to 15 years caring for a sick loved one, and regularly do, before health problems get too serious for them to handle. We need to make sure that family caregivers can keep doing this job and that they get support from their community to help their loved ones.

What people need when they are trying to help their loved ones, and what they often lack, is access to respite services. Caregivers often get worn out. Having someone who can take over every now and then for a day or a weekend enables caregivers to keep doing their amazing work caring for people with dementia.

The strategy must include mechanisms to ensure that staff have the necessary knowledge about the disease and the skills to deal with it. This means that people have to share information. The purpose of a national strategy is to share information. People should not be working in isolation. We have to find a way to make sure that everything we learn, everything that might be useful, such as best practices, is communicated to people struggling with the same problems. It is essential for people to have ways to talk to each other. The goal is not to step in for the provinces but to ensure that communication channels remain open and people work together. Real collaboration needs to happen so that people can share best practices. We have to make sure that nursing staff, doctors and other professionals have the right knowledge and skills to work with people with dementia and provide them with quality care that is appropriate for their situation.

They are often forgotten, but the volunteers who work in this field need to be able to understand the reality of a person living with dementia. It is not always an easy thing to do. There are certain situations that are very difficult to go through on a daily basis and it is hard to know how to intervene. The volunteers who work at these centres must have access to the knowledge and skills they need to properly understand the reality of the field they have chosen to work in.

As far as research is concerned, we have extraordinary Canadian researchers, but we could also form international partnerships to further our knowledge. In my opinion, the quality of daily life for people with dementia is an essential area of research. Lately, a lot of research has been done on daily life. In Quebec at least, there has been a shift from a very medically based approach to one focusing on the daily experience of dementia sufferers. The goal is for the transfer to long-term care centres to go as smoothly as possible. For that to happen, the person with dementia needs to create reference points. A lot of advances have been made because of these various approaches that focus on the quality of life and ways of providing care and intervention. Not only is this helping those living with dementia to live much more happily, but it is also enabling the families to be an integral part of the care process.

There is a lot to do. With the challenges this will present in the coming years, it is essential to share information in order to adopt an effective national strategy for dementia.

[Telecommunications, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, there is a deep inequality among Canadians when it comes to high-speed Internet access. For many people outside of major centres, access to high-speed service quite simply does not exist or is unaffordable.

The minister announced a reduction in the cost of operator licences, but nothing guarantees that this will give Canadians, particularly those in rural areas, real access to better service at a lower cost. Once again, wishful thinking is at play here.

When will the minister take the needs of people in businesses in rural regions seriously?

[Anti-terrorism Act, 2015, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that the Conservatives are misleading Canadians by claiming that it is crucial to pass Bill C-51.

The measures adopted after the 2001 legislation were only used after the events in October. Recently, there have been more arrests of people who represent a threat.

Does my colleague think the issue was a legal problem that tied the hands of those involved or the poor use of existing resources and options and the underfunding of certain agencies responsible for security? Did we need more money or more laws?

[Anti-terrorism Act, 2015, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, since the unfortunate events of last October, there have been a number of arrests involving either people who subscribe to the jihadist philosophy or people who have no such affiliation but are considered a terrorist threat. That got me thinking.

Since the new measures in Bill C-51 are not yet in force, as we are still considering them, I wonder whether this is just a problem of resources. After what happened in October, the government realized that it may have neglected to put certain resources in place. Since our budgetary philosophy on these potential threats was reviewed, the authorities have been able to arrest people who are considered a threat without the need for any legislative change.

The question is this: does the problem have to do with the legislation or with budgets and resources?

[National Defence, May 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration confirmed that the government had still not received the report or reports concerning the tragic death of Sergeant Doiron on the front line in Iraq. At the same time, the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Lawson, indicated that battle fatigue among the Kurdish soldiers was the likely cause of the Canadian soldier's death.

Will Canadians ever know the truth about the circumstances surrounding Sergeant Doiron's death? When will the reports be made public?

[National Defence, May 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the media reported that Canadian military police mistreated prisoners being held in Kandahar. A new complaint has just been filed regarding the incidents, which allegedly occurred between December 2010 and January 2011.

It seems an investigation was conducted, but no charges were laid. That is rather troubling given the alleged behaviour.

We have just been informed that the minister knew about this when it happened. Is there a report on the incidents, and if so, exactly what information did the minister have?

[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, May 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to the bill introduced by my colleague from Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, because not only do I share his opinion regarding the bill, but we are also lucky enough to share a territory in the Abitibi area of his riding, namely Algonquin territory in Quebec.

Earlier we heard from my colleague from Timmins—James Bay, with whom I also share an Algonquin territorial borders. I am so glad that the two members with whom I share territorial borders have both had a chance to speak here today.

Before I speak directly to the bill, I would like to paint a picture of the aboriginal people of my riding. I feel it is important to do so because for the people of Abitibi—Témiscamingue, their relationships with the aboriginal communities of this area are very important. The principle of partnerships should be applied in all of our relationships with aboriginal communities.

In the administrative region of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, as opposed to the federal electoral district, there are seven aboriginal communities. There is the Abitibiwinni First Nation of Pikogan, which is in my riding, in the area near Amos. There is also the Timiskaming First Nation, the Wolfe Lake First Nation, the Eagle Village First Nation and the Long Point First Nation. All of those communities are located in the Témiscamingue area and in the territory of my colleague from Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou. The Abitibi area has two aboriginal communities: the Kitcisakik First Nation and the Lac Simon First Nation.

These communities are unusual in that they are often very young compared to the general population of Abitibi—Témiscamingue. Unfortunately, the level of education is often lower too. People struggle with various health and social problem that still need a lot of work. Communities are becoming increasingly aware of these problems. Often solutions come from within the communities themselves.

One of the most important features that characterizes the Algonquin communities of Abitibi—Témiscamingue is demographic growth. From 2009 to 2013, their demographic growth was 13.6%, compared to 1.5% in the general population. The population in some sectors, such as the RCM of Témiscamingue, would be shrinking if not for those aboriginal communities. However, because of the high birth rate in those communities, these RCMs are maintaining stable populations.

I would also like to remind everyone that, unfortunately, over 20% of the aboriginal people in Abitibi—Témiscamingue live below the poverty line. That is shameful, particularly considering the economic boom that the Abitibi—Témiscamingue region has experienced in recent years.

That should give everyone a sense of the communities that I represent. It is also interesting to note that “Abitibi” is an Algonquin word. Every time people say “Abitibi—Témiscamingue”, they are practising their Algonquin.

Ensuring that our federal bills respect the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples means, first and foremost, that we will be able to take action to enable first nations to become independent and emancipated. If we want to build a long-term and respectful relationship with first nations, the first thing we need to do is make sure we are relating as equals. I think we have some historical challenges to overcome after so many absolutely disastrous state interventions such as aboriginal residential schools. Many of the people I represent lived through that.

In the face of such examples, if we want to establish a real relationship with these communities and encourage their development, then we must respect their rights. That way they can become independent because they are not subjected to government decisions. They become involved in the decision-making. That is how to establish a relationship of equality.

Unfortunately, we have seen a lack of political will on the part of the Conservative government and the Prime Minister since they came to power. Just look at how the government turns a deaf ear to the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women.

The problems in the communities can be resolved by taking the time to have an open discussion with them instead of focusing on meeting a deadline. Asking the first nations to help us find and develop solutions is the way to establish egalitarian and autonomous relationships and allow these communities to become independent.

These relationships will be established in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is extremely important to understand all this in order to understand the importance of this bill.

It is also important to note that this declaration was issued even before the current Conservative government took office. It is therefore high time to act. This Parliament is coming to an end and the government still has not done anything, when it could have done something a long time ago.

A great gift we could give Canadians for the 150th anniversary of Confederation would be to decide that from now on, we will maintain egalitarian relationships with aboriginal communities. That would be a very good goal, and we have time before the 150th anniversary of Confederation to build the egalitarian framework on which our future relationships would be based. This is a wonderful opportunity to show our willingness to learn from our mistakes in order to build a promising future for our aboriginal communities.

Another key element of this declaration is the nation-to-nation relationship. As it now stands, many aboriginal communities have never ceded their rights to their traditional lands. The Conservative government is not respecting the nation-to-nation relationship when it imposes laws without respecting the rights of aboriginal peoples and without consulting them. If we want to build the nation-to-nation relationship, we need to sit down with aboriginal governments and the organizations that represent aboriginal communities and build an egalitarian relationship.

Instead, the Conservative government spends its time challenging court decisions, often ones that are good for aboriginal people. We cannot build an egalitarian nation-to-nation relationship by behaving like that. We need to be prepared to show some humility and say that we can build a Canada that people will be proud of and happy to share.

By including aboriginal communities, we can also build a Canada where there will be sustainable development for everyone, with all the nations. In that way, aboriginal communities, other Canadians and new immigrants will be proud of the country that we build together.

[Health, April 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it has become a habit for the Conservatives. They deliberately refuse to keep their promises.

In the case of thalidomide victims, they do not have the right to create false hope. As a result of an NDP motion, the House unanimously voted to provide financial compensation. However, five months later there is nothing in the budget. Not only is Health Canada not releasing its assistance plan to the public, but it is even refusing to provide the details to thalidomide victims.

When will the minister finally treat these victims with dignity?

[The Budget, April 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, yes, some measures apply immediately—those that benefit the wealthiest. Income splitting applies immediately, and the higher TFSA limit will be in effect very soon. Basically, the measures the government is implementing now are for the wealthiest. The measures that could help communities, particularly those that have been suffering since this government came to power, will not come into effect for some time.

We all know that this government will be replaced after the next election and that Canadians will vote in an NDP government that will really look after people's priorities.

[The Budget, April 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, for every dollar earned by a man, a woman earns just 70¢. Indeed, income splitting is not specific to women. However, in the real world, it is clear that in the vast majority of cases, women earn a lower income than their husbands. There are situations in which the opposite is true and the choice is different. However, in the vast majority of cases, women will stay at home because they end up working for nearly nothing if they choose to work.

Once they factor in the tax measures they are not entitled to, rising child care costs, transportation costs and all the expenses, these women may end up earning one or two dollars an hour. At that wage, unless your math skills are really rusty, it is obvious that it makes more sense to stay at home. This is a regressive measure that will cause more women to stay at home.

The member opposite needs to realize that it is still mainly women who suffer from inequalities in our society. Unfortunately, his government has not done much to help women.