House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 37% of the vote.
Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act May 25th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, previously, the member for Winnipeg North had talked about firearms being left in vehicles and vehicles being stolen. Bill C-42 would deal specifically with restricted and prohibited weapons.
Would the member explain to this House the obligations of a law-abiding gun owner to acquire both a PAL and an ATT and jeopardize leaving a firearm in a vehicle?
Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act May 25th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member, in the latter part of his speech, tried to link Bill C-42 to gun violence in Surrey. As a retired member of the force, I am pretty sure there is not a gangbanger out there who has a PAL or an ATT. I am sure they do not even know how to spell it. That is a fair stretch on that part.
My question is with regard to the ATT. As he well knows from committee and elsewhere, the ATT has been formed so that a person can take it from their residence to a gun range and return it in that fashion. I believe that is the most appropriate way. Therefore, I would like to clearly understand where he was trying to go with gun violence in Surrey, specific to a PAL, a POL and an ATT, in which gangbangers do not apply to any of these rules, none.
Yukon and Nunavut Regulatory Improvement Act May 25th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Red Deer for his speech, for everything he is doing on aboriginal affairs, and for how he is moving this file forward.
I wonder if the member could explain to the House how this will improve economic development in Yukon as this bill moves through the House.
Mining Industry May 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate National Mining Week, I would like to reflect on how important the mining industry is to the Canadian economy. In fact, nearly 400,000 men and women are employed in the mining sector, which contributes close to $60 billion to Canada's GDP and one-fifth of Canada's merchandise exports.
Could the Minister of Natural Resources share with the House what our government is doing to support this vital sector of our economy?
Addiction Recovery Week Act May 7th, 2015
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-674, An Act to establish Addiction Recovery Week.
Mr. Speaker, I am humbled and honoured to stand in this place today to introduce an act to establish addiction recovery week. This bill would recognize the week commencing on the fourth Saturday of September as addiction recovery week.
As a person in long-term recovery, I say we must remove the stigma that is attached to addiction recovery and celebrate those who have taken the long road back to prosperity and a healthy life. This bill would be a significant step forward in doing just that.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
National Strategy for Dementia Act May 5th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the subject of dementia and the private member's bill from the hon. member for Nickel Belt. We can all acknowledge that the member has been doing good work to raise awareness of the important issues faced by Canadians with Alzheimer's or other dementias.
Dementia poses a significant challenge to the health of Canadians. We probably all have a personal story about the impact and burden dementia can have on the individuals and families who are affected by it. Therefore, I want to start by sharing some of what we know about this disease.
Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia can affect many aspects of an individual's life. Most often, symptoms include loss of memory, impaired judgment and reasoning, changes in mood and behaviour, and impaired ability to communicate. Over time, individuals living with these conditions become unable to perform the activities of daily living that so many of us take for granted. Although medications can sometimes slow down or delay dementia, there is no cure. There is also a limited understanding of the causes of dementia. However, early research is pointing to possible risk factors such as physical inactivity; unhealthy diets; environmental, genetic, and gender factors; and traumatic brain injury.
I would also like to update the House on a number of the activities that our government has been taking since we had the first hour of debate. In March, the government participated in the World Health Organization's Ministerial Conference on Global Action Against Dementia in Geneva, Switzerland. This conference followed the 2013 G8 summit on dementia, where Canada also participated and where ministers made a number of commitments to address the challenges of dementia. This included a commitment to working toward identifying a cure for dementia by 2025. At the most recent conference in Geneva, these commitments were reinforced and Canada was among 80 countries that adopted a call to action to advance efforts on dementia and maintain it as a priority issue on national and international agendas. Discussions are currently under way on how to build on and sustain the momentum that has been generated over the past year and a half to meet the challenges of dementia.
Within Canada, there have been several investments to address dementia at the national level. As members will know, a primary federal role in regard to Alzheimer's disease and other dementias is supporting research. Economic action plan 2015 would do exactly that. Our government would provide up to $42 million over five years, starting in 2015-2016, to Baycrest Health Sciences to support the establishment of the Canadian centre for aging and brain health innovation. Funding for the centre includes $32 million in support from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and it will support new research and the development of products and services to support brain health and aging. This is the latest in a series of government investments in dementia-related research.
Also, the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging was launched in September 2014. This initiative is working on transformative research ideas to improve the lives of Canadians living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. It is supported with government funding of $22.6 million, with an additional $9.9 million over five years from a group of external public and private partners. Research is also being conducted at the international level.
As a global leader, our government is working with international partners on global dementia efforts through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The research goals are to prevent or delay the onset and progression of the disease, improve the quality of life for those afflicted and their caregivers, improve access to quality care, and enable the care system to deal effectively with the rising number of affected individuals.
Our government is also supporting projects to make sure our experts have the latest information on how this disease is affecting Canadians. A national population study was just completed last year so that we have up-to-date monitoring of who is affected and what care they require.
There are a lot of activities already under way at the federal level in terms of research, surveillance, and international leadership toward a cure. However, when we get into a discussion about health care, we always need to remain mindful of our partners, as laid out by the Constitution. The provinces and territories are responsible for the delivery of health care, and we need to ensure we are working with them in a co-operative way.
When it comes to this kind of co-operation, our government has been driving the agenda. At the last meeting of federal, provincial, and territorial ministers of health, our federal minister began a discussion with all of her counterparts regarding a national dementia plan. In fact, she was able to secure an agreement to begin working on a pan-Canadian dementia strategy. Since that meeting, the government has worked with its partners to continue making progress. The provinces and territories have expressed their support for federal research to advance policy development on dementia, while they are leading work on assessing best practices through the Council of the Federation. An update on these efforts will be presented to the health ministers for consideration and further direction at their next meetings.
As much as I know that the member for Nickel Belt was well intentioned in bringing forward this bill, to a large extent it has been overtaken by events. The key accomplishment of it is to establish a national strategy for dementia, and our government has already begun to work on doing exactly that. In fact, this commitment is also included in economic action plan 2015. There is no planning document more important than the budget, so Canadians can be confident that we are working to get this done.
I also think it is important to point out the realities of private members' legislation at the stage in this calendar. As I am sure the member knows well, private members' bills have quite a long process to undergo before they make it through royal assent and become law. This bill would still have to be reviewed at committee, be scheduled for third reading in the House, and then be referred to the other place so its members can go through the entire process again from first to third reading. Most members in the House would agree that this is quite a lot of hurdles for a bill, with only a few sitting weeks remaining.
That is why I was happy to see the hon. member for Huron—Bruce bring forward a motion of his own, Motion No. 575, which also calls on the government to take strong actions to tackle the issues of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. I know that the government is carefully reviewing this motion, and I look forward to seeing it debated in this place. As we all know, motions can be passed much more quickly than bills. Motion No. 575 is one way that Parliament could take real action and call on the government to bring about changes that would work to improve the lives of Canadians with dementia. At the end of the day, our constituents want real results and real action to address this important issue.
I am pleased that our government has accomplished so much already, and I know we will continue working hard for all Canadians who have been affected by dementia.
Anti-terrorism Act, 2015 May 5th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member's statement quite intently. We hear the words “secret police” a lot from the opposition, which just baffles my mind. The reason it baffles my mind is that as a retired police officer, I know that I can walk out these doors and speak with an RCMP officer who is not secret. I can go to any border crossing and speak to CBSA officers. They are not secret.
CSIS is a spy agency, it is not a police agency. I wonder if the member could clarify to the House what the secret police is. I would like to meet them as well because I do not know who they are.
Anti-terrorism Act, 2015 May 5th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, could the parliamentary secretary cite the importance of Bill C-51 and the sharing of information between the RCMP, CBSA, CSIS, and others?
The Budget April 28th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I will ask the member a couple of questions.
It is our Conservative government that has increased health and social transfers to provinces to historic highs all while balancing the budget. Unlike the Liberals, we did not balance the budget by slashing transfers.
If NDP members are serious about health care, will they support budget 2015? More importantly, if NDP members are serious about helping seniors, will they support measures in the budget, like the companion care benefits and the change to the RRIFs?
Health April 20th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, today the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse released findings from its upcoming report on marijuana use. This timely release confirms once again that smoking pot is directly linked to lower IQs and dependency and harms the developing brain. Stats Canada also confirms that our approach to keeping pot out of the hands of kids is working. Over the past decade, usage by teens has dropped by nearly a third.
Can the parliamentary secretary please update the House on our Conservative government's efforts to stop kids from smoking marijuana?