Jenica Atwin

[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, April 15th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague so much for her incredible, impactful words today. She has articulated so many of the things that need to be said more often in this House.

I have struggled with this bill. I have high hopes, but I also have those same concerns and that same mistrust. I am thinking of court cases, child welfare, residential school survivors, the boil water advisories, the lack of action on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, the snail's pace of implementing the TRC recommendations, the poverty, the state of housing.

I wonder, will this bill truly address the situation? For communities on the ground, day-to-day band operations, what will this mean in practice? That is the question I am having trouble articulating. Is it symbolism over substance, or can I believe in Canada this time around?

[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, April 15th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, there is so much to say here and so much to clarify. The arguments are extremely nuanced. The implications of this bill are profound. There are voices that must still be empowered through this process. This is for all of Canada. Canadians deserve a fulsome debate. MPs deserve the opportunity to contribute to that fulsome debate.

Would the minister agree that even good, progressive legislation has to go through the parliamentary process? We need to have these conversations out in the open. There are many voices, on either side of the bill, who should have their day in the House of Commons. Would the minister agree?

[Pest Control Products Act, April 15th, 2021]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-285, an act to amend the Pest Control Products Act (glyphosate).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my seconder and colleague, the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith, who is always a strong proponent of protecting our environment.

Today I fulfill a promise I made to my constituents when I ran in 2019. It is an honour to present this bill with the important purpose of imposing a nationwide ban on the use of glyphosate, from our forests to our fields. The widespread use of glyphosate over New Brunswick forests and across Canada is a menace to human health and plant and wildlife biodiversity. There is a growing global consensus that glyphosate, deemed a probable carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, has no place in our society.

Rather than allowing toxic chemicals to be sprayed in Canada until they are proven harmful, we should be exercising greater precaution and banning products until they can be deemed safe. Canadians have the right to breathe clean air, drink safe water and harvest healthy food from the land.

I want to thank the leadership of the tens of thousands of New Brunswickers who have bravely fought for years for this ban to be implemented in the hope of ensuring safer communities for generations to come.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Finance, April 13th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the pandemic has made it clear that the financial security of millions of Canadians is hanging by a thread. The economy and the systems supporting it are not working for everyone. The wealth of Canadian billionaires sky-rocketed during the pandemic, while millions, including children and people with disabilities, still live below the poverty line.

For months, the government has been making promises that no Canadian will be left behind, but these promises feel empty when we see a refusal to hike the capital gains tax and reticence to impose a significant wealth tax.

Will the upcoming budget be a pathway to a fair and more prosperous Canada for all or will the government continue to allow corporations and their shareholders to build back better on the backs of Canadians?

[Criminal Code, April 13th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I will ask a question around prosecutorial and police discretion because I still have concerns about the lack of understanding that still exists in Canada.

I am wondering what other additional measures the member would like to see. I am thinking about Bill C-3, which made it mandatory for judges to have training around sexual assault. What about trauma-informed care? What about information around residential school experiences, or about Canadians who continue to be oppressed in our country? Are there additional measures that the member would like to see in this bill?

[Diversity and Inclusion, March 25th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister admitted that there is systemic racism in all systems that govern this country. He recognized that systemic anti-Black racism exists in Canada, causes deep pain and has undermined the livelihoods of Black Canadians, and Canada's own public service is complicit. As a result of systemic racism and discrimination, the government has failed to achieve equality and correct the conditions that disadvantage Black civil servants.

Reparation is the act of making up for wrongdoing. Will the government fight in court the Black civil servants who courageously came forward to expose the wrongdoing they faced during their careers, or will it work toward reparation? Will the government commit today to review the Employment Equity Act and ensure it brings down the category of visible minorities, acknowledging the unique and systemic racism faced by Black employees?

[Lexi, March 24th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, on February 24, Fredericton lost one of its precious lights. Lexi, at 16, was active, curious and kind. Her smile and her quick sense of humour were able to brighten any room she walked into.

Derived from Greek, Lexi means the one who protects humanity. Together with Lexi's family and our community, we will ensure her legacy does just that: keeps us safe.

We will continue to talk about her and everything that made her the person she was. We will continue to talk about the mental health services other young people so desperately need. We will not accept the status quo that we are living in a society where we turn away youth in their moment of greatest need.

We lost Lexi's light on this earth; now we have a guiding star. May it remind us to listen and support every spark so they may not fade out, that no darkness may overtake them.

[Veterans Affairs, March 23rd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, remembering the sacrifices of veterans is one thing. Responding to their current urgent needs is another.

If I may, here is a list of presumptive diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure, some of which Canadian veterans and their families are grappling with: chronic lymphatic leukemia, soft tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, chloracne, respiratory cancer, prostate cancer, multiple myeloma, early-onset transient peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, type 2 diabetes, and spina bifida in offspring of exposed individuals.

Agent White and Agent Purple were also sprayed in my community, along with glyphosate and DDT. Citizens were told these chemicals were just about safe enough to drink. Workers cleared fallen brush with their bare hands, fresh after a spray, while the children played in smoke clouds behind the application trucks. The contracted companies wanted to save a few bucks by cutting corners and increasing chemical concentrations. Now it is these citizens who are paying the price.

Will the government do what is right? Will it uphold the duty of care for veterans and their families? Will they undertake—

[Veterans Affairs, March 23rd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I am raising an issue today in our adjournment proceedings that I originally raised on November 17 during question period.

As an MP, I often reflect on what it means to serve this country. Base Gagetown is located in my riding of Fredericton, and it is with a great sense of pride that I represent so many people who are also serving our country as current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

There is a distinct moral, social, legal and fiduciary covenant between Canada and the active and retired members of the Canadian Armed Forces. I am here this evening because I am convinced that the government is not upholding its obligations to those who have sacrificed themselves, their health and their well-being.

I want to draw the parliamentary secretary's attention to a group of brave, driven and hard-working citizens in my riding who call themselves Brats In The Battlefield. They are veterans, children of veterans and private citizens who live in close proximity to our base. They are also victims of the application of pesticides and herbicides in accumulation at Base Gagetown over decades, and they are seeking answers. These individuals have lost too many of their loved ones already. Many are fighting a new battle of health as they confront cancer and other diagnoses that can be linked to chemical exposure. They deserve justice.

An independent public inquiry to address exactly what was used and in what quantities would help to uncover the answers these people have been seeking. The government confirmed in a response to their petition that all federal and provincial regulations were followed at the time other than in a few specific cases, but this is not good enough. In fact, it is outrageous. Policies have evolved over time, because we know more about these products than we once did. We need to apply current scientific knowledge to decisions that were made over the last 70 years, so that citizens can know with certainty what they were exposed to and what ongoing risks to their health they face.

If the government wants to take seriously its role and responsibility, it would convene a fully independent public inquiry that would make recommendations in relation to the application of pesticides at CFB Gagetown and its surrounding communities from the 1950s to the present day, well beyond the two-year window that was previously studied.

A fact-finding project was at one time convened, followed by a health risk assessment conducted by the chemical industry itself. It should come as no surprise that those affected find little solace in these reports. Furthermore, the Inquiries Act clearly states that an independent commissioner may be appointed, and that was never done.

The mandate of Veterans Affairs Canada is to support the well-being of veterans and their families. This is an obvious component of that mandate. Members of this brave group not only feel let down, they feel walked on and locked out of the democratic process.

Having been born and raised in Oromocto myself, I know that the base is part of our identity. It is the heart of our community's economy. Those who have served there, and their families, deserve justice. I am calling on the government to do the right thing and take a long, hard look at what happened at Base Gagetown, at our ongoing use of herbicides and pesticides and what risks we are willing to take when it comes to human health.

I can only pray that these Canadians will still be alive long enough to receive the acknowledgement they deserve and to find peace in the hope that it will never happen again.

[Criminal Code, March 11th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary mentioned thousands of hours of debate around Bill C-14 and Bill C-7.

Would the member not agree that, in comparison, when we are talking about this amendment about mental health or those who are mentally ill having access to MAID, that such a little amount of time has been given to debate such a large expansion of the definition of MAID?

Could the member comment on the discrepancy between the thousands of hours that went into the beginning stages of this bill and the short time frame we have been given for this new piece of legislation that is a critical component that, I think, we need more time for?