Harold Albrecht

[Business of Supply, October 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his very moving words, especially his vulnerability in sharing his family's journey.

There have been a number of examples shared today during this discussion of good work that is being done. I mentioned earlier Dave Batters' family, which is doing exceptional work and being open about its struggle. If people go on YouTube and search for Dave Batters, they will find a good 30-second promotion to help people be more aware of this issue.

In my own experience, I have worked with a group called Your Life Counts. It is doing good work in terms of an online presence and being available to personally speak with those who contact it. In my riding, the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council does good work. It has a fundraiser golf tournament every year that raises awareness and funds for research.

I have two questions for my colleague. The first is, could he share an example or two from his local area? The more examples we hear of good community work being done will enhance the need for us to see a national leadership role as important. The second is, does he agree that if such a program is initiated, the after care of those who have dealt with suicide is as important as the prevention and intervention work we are talking about today?

[Business of Supply, October 4th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, Margaret Somerville, an ethicist at McGill University, has said, “Hope is the oxygen of the human spirit; without it our spirit dies...” That encapsulates, in a very real sense, the despair that those who may consider ending their lives by suicide might be facing.

My colleague mentioned the importance of dealing with the social, biological and psychological factors as we deal with suicide prevention, and I agree with her 100%. I am wondering if she would agree that we could add a spiritual dimension. For many in this room and in aboriginal communities, there is a spiritual dimension to providing hope that far too often we neglect.

I am wondering if she would comment on her perception as it relates to the need to recognize the spiritual dimension for those who may be facing this despair in their lives.

[Business of Supply, October 4th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for highlighting the dramatic reduction in suicides in Quebec. That is a great story that we need to build upon. She also mentioned a number of the NGOs who are doing good work in regard to suicide prevention.

I recently had the honour of working with a group doing online work in suicide prevention called Your Life Counts, which young people can access on the Internet. I mentioned Dave Batters in my previous remarks. His wife, Denise, has done a lot of good work on this. People can search Dave Batters on YouTube to find a 30 second clip that will help us increase awareness as it relates to suicide prevention. I would encourage my colleagues and those who may be watching to take advantage of that.

What role does the member think it is important for new technology to play? It is important from my perspective to get beyond the pamphlets and the round tables, although they are good, and start to embrace some of the modern technology that is at our fingertips to reach people instantly, especially those in our northern and remote communities where they may have access to those kinds of resources but not to the traditional resources that we are used to here.

[Business of Supply, October 4th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, that we are having this conversation in a national forum like this is so important. It is important that we end the silence around this topic.

I want to commend a previous questioner who commented about my colleague, Dave Batters. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Denise Batters for her amazing work and for not being afraid to share her story and bring it into the public forum. As members know, my colleague Dave Batters was very open about his battle with depression. For many of us it was a total shock to hear that he had ended his life by suicide. He was always such an encouragement and a great person to be around.

I think my colleague will agree that not all suicides are the result of mental illness. There is, as is pointed in the motion, a public health issue as well.

Would my colleague highlight what her understanding is of the need for a public health part of this, in addition to the mental health part?

[Business of Supply, October 4th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague the parliamentary secretary for outlining many of the positive initiatives that our government has initiated over the past five and a half years.

I also want to thank my colleague, the leader of the Liberal Party, for giving us the opportunity to debate this important issue today. Just the fact that this issue is being discussed is important because for far too long this has been shrouded in secrecy and silence. There is also a stigma attached to it.

Members will know that last week I tabled my private member's Bill C-300, which calls on the government to create a federal framework for suicide prevention.

As our colleagues have pointed out today, the numbers are truly appalling. Over 300 people every month end their lives by suicide, or the equivalent of the number of passengers in one large airliner. We have local stories here in Ottawa. Back in my region of Waterloo last year, in one week, three youths ended their lives by suicide.

We have good work going on across the country. Little chapters are doing excellent work. What we need is a federal leadership role, not just in terms of looking at risk factors and prevention but also in what we would term "postvention", in terms of caring for those who are left to deal with the aftermath of suicide.

I wonder if my colleague would comment on the importance of having some part of a framework or a strategy, or a government initiative that would deal with those families and communities that are left broken as a result of suicide.

[Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act, October 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, in this speech from the NDP opposition again we heard the innuendo that somehow Canada is losing its place of respect on the international stage in how it deals with refugees.

The member asked what message we are sending and what is going to happen now. I remind the member and indeed all Canadians that the Balanced Refugee Reform Act, which a previous colleague of his implied has not come into law, came into law in June. It received royal assent on June 29 at 5 p.m. That act actually increases the number of refugees Canada receives each year by 2,500.

This is the kind of message the international scene is receiving. This government is standing up for refugees. We want refugees to be welcomed into this country, but we want to be sure that the refugees, the asylum seekers we are accepting are actually refugees.

What is so wrong with having public safety officials determine that the people who are seeking refugee here are in fact legitimate refugees?

[Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act, October 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, a couple of times today there has been the innuendo that somehow we are cutting back on the number of asylum seekers and refugees that we accept. I want to remind Canadians who are watching that the Balanced Refugee Reform Act that was passed recently adds 20% or 2,500 refugees per year, so we are up to 14,500 refugees per year that we are accepting.

I am wondering if my hon. colleague would correct the record. In terms of Canada's reputation in the world, it is quite strong. We receive many refugees and the Canadian population needs to be reminded of that.

[Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act, October 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague speak about Bill C-4. It is unfortunate that at different times throughout her speech she mixed various aspects of history in an attempt to equate this with the turning back of the St. Louis. We are not talking about turning ships back. We are talking about implementing a fair and transparent system that will allow our public safety officials to ensure that these people are fleeing persecution, not prosecution.

Another difficulty I have is the innuendo that somehow the Conservatives are not compassionate. I assure the member that many of us on this side of the House have been personally involved in helping "the boat people", as she has referred to them. Many of us have had refugees stay in our homes. We have walked with them through those early days, weeks and months as they have adjusted to life here in Canada. There is no intention on our part to minimize the needs of legitimate refugees. Our intent is to ensure there is a fair and transparent system.

Does the hon. member not think it is important that our public safety officials have the tools at their disposal to ensure that these people are legitimate refugees and are not taking the place of legitimate refugees and would otherwise be kept out?

[Senate Reform Act, October 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, most of our discussion surrounding this particular speech that was made by my colleague has focused on the issue of the voluntary selection by provinces of a senator-in-waiting. We do know that the province that has implemented that has had a positive experience with it. However, in the last few minutes we have not had much focus on the issue of the term limits of senators.

It seems to me that most Canadians would find it surprising that currently a senator can be elected as early as age 30 and potentially serve there for 45 years. That is not a really good representation of Canadians. I would like my colleague to respond as to whether she thinks it would be a move in the right direction to limit a senator's term of service from a potential 45 years back to nine years.

[Business of Supply, September 29th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to the comments from the member opposite. At different points she talked about encouraging private investment and encouraging investment in public infrastructure. I would remind the member and her party that there has never been a time in Canadian history where more investment has gone into public infrastructure than in the past number of years since our government took office.

Regarding private sector investment, we have introduced a number of initiatives to encourage that, including the accelerated capital cost allowance. It makes a huge difference by allowing companies to invest in critical infrastructure that would help them improve their efficiency and help them remain competitive internationally.

We have also introduced the EI credit which provides small businesses with a credit when hiring.

With regard to business tax reductions, I understand there are a number of NDP members in Windsor, so perhaps the following quote from The Windsor Star would be helpful to the member and her party:

In short, all the evidence suggests corporate tax cuts lead to jobs and investment...

The government should push forward with lower taxes for businesses. Why would the NDP not want Canadian businesses to invest and create more jobs for Canadians who really want to work?