Jennifer O'Connell

[Diversity and Inclusion, May 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, if the practice could have been ended simply by a stroke of the government's pen, why did the member opposite not do so when she sat around the cabinet table? It is because this process has to move forward with Héma-Québec, as well as Canadian Blood Services. However, we actually did fund more than 15 projects to move forward in ending this discriminatory practice because we are committed to doing so, unlike the Conservatives, who are trying to clean up a mess on this file where they have made outrageous and horrifying comments—

[Diversity and Inclusion, May 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, leave it to the Conservatives, when we agree this practice is discriminatory and want to change it, to consider that virtue signalling. May I remind members that a member of the Conservative Party recently had to apologize for calling the LGBTQ2+ community “unclean”?

We take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to ending the discriminatory practice in this country. They sat on this for more than 10 years. We are actually moving forward to end this discriminatory practice.

[Diversity and Inclusion, May 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the decision to change the discriminatory practice of the blood ban is not one the government can do on its own; it has to be done in conjunction with Héma-Québec and Canadian Blood Services. We want this decision to be made. That is why we provided the funding.

I would ask the member opposite this. When she sat around the cabinet table with the Harper Conservatives, why did they do nothing to end this discriminatory practice?

We are taking action and moving forward.

[Diversity and Inclusion, May 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, yes, we absolutely agree this is a discriminatory practice. That is precisely why we put in place the funding needed for Héma-Québec and the Canadian Blood Services to do the studies that were needed.

I will not take lessons from the Conservatives, who continually talk in this House against LGBTQ2+ rights. They have sat on this issue for more than 10 years. We took action right away and we worked to end—

[Diversity and Inclusion, May 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, we agree the blood ban is discriminatory. That is precisely why we worked and provided the funding needed to Héma-Québec, as well as Canadian Blood Services, to make these changes. We look forward to their bringing forward an application. It is not a decision the government can make on its own, but we encourage Héma-Québec and Canadian Blood Services to make this application so we can finally end this discriminatory practice.

[National Nursing Week, May 11th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize National Nursing Week, which takes place from May 10 to May 16.

Nurses play a critical role in delivering health care services, shaping our health system and improving the health of Canadians. The dedication of nurses has never been more evident than it is right now during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across Canada, nurses have provided unwavering support to patients, demonstrating leadership and professionalism under challenging circumstances. Nurses have been working around the clock at great personal sacrifice and with the knowledge that being on the front lines may expose their own families to risk. I commend the great work nurses have done and continue to do.

I would like to acknowledge one special nurse to me, the member for Brampton West, who put her scrubs back on to help her community during this pandemic. She is an inspiration to us all.

I invite all my colleagues to use the hashtag #NationalNursingWeek on social media to celebrate the nurses across Canada and to thank them for their dedication to our communities.

[Health, May 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the member opposite for her advocacy for high-quality mental health services. It is something we are committed to as well, as I mentioned in the investments outlined above.

With that, the member opposite spoke about the need for national standards. We are working collaboratively with provinces, territories and stakeholders. I will continue to work with the member opposite for additional ideas because we know that even after this pandemic, the supports and the mental health needs of Canadians are going to continue. We will continue to improve services and access to make sure that no Canadian is left to suffer in silence.

We continue to work with all members of the House and community providers who can provide these services. We are committed to working with them because we want to make sure all Canadians receive the help they need.

[Health, May 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her advocacy of mental health supports. We agree that the need to give support to Canadians for mental health is substantial, and I want to thank her for this opportunity to speak more about the programs we have in place.

The member is absolutely right that prior to COVID-19 mental health was a significant concern, with one in three Canadians experiencing mental illness or problematic substance use during their lifetime. Our government recognizes the seriousness of this problem and has taken a comprehensive approach to mental health.

When COVID-19 struck, our government took action to address the mental health needs of Canadians and alleviate some of the burden on the provinces and territories. Five hundred million dollars in additional support was provided to the provinces and territories for immediate mental health and substance-use service needs as part of the $19-billion safe restart agreement. We also provided $7.5 million in funding to Kids Help Phone to provide young people with mental health support.

We launched Wellness Together Canada, which the member mentioned, on April 15, 2020. It offers a range of free mental health and substance-use supports to individuals across Canada on a 24-7 basis, in both official languages and with interpretation available during phone sessions in over 200 languages and dialects. Supports include access to peer-support networks and confidential text and phone sessions with mental health professionals, and a dedicated text line for health care workers and front-line personnel. Since its launch, over 1.2 million individuals in all provinces and territories have accessed Wellness Together Canada in over 3.6 million web sessions. Our support of this initiative continues through budget 2021, which provides $62 million to Wellness Together Canada so that it can continue to provide Canadians with tools and services to support mental health and well-being.

So that Canadians can access timely evidence-based care, treatment and support, budget 2021 has also committed $45 million over two years to help develop national mental health service standards in collaboration with provinces, territories and key stakeholders because, as the member opposite points out, we need a multi-faceted approach to providing supports to Canadians for mental health.

I also want to point out that in recognition of the intersections between mental health, gender, race and occupation, budget 2021 will provide $100 million over three years for mental health projects and $50 million over two years for mental health programming to support populations at high risk of experiencing trauma brought on by the pandemic.

To conclude, we know that investments in mental health were needed prior to COVID, and that significant investments in it have been needed throughout COVID. When we get through the pandemic, support for the mental health and well-being of Canadians will continue, and we will be there for them.

[Health, May 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, we know that mental health was a struggle for many Canadians even prior to COVID, and COVID has made the situation worse.

I could not disagree more with the member opposite's assertion that we have done nothing. In fact, we continue to invest in mental health supports, including wellnesstogether.ca. Over a million Canadians have accessed that support. It is crucially important that we encourage Canadians to use wellnesstogether.ca to access the support they need and that we support them, so that no Canadians suffer in silence.

I encourage the member to help us help his constituents and Canadians across the country get the resources that are available.

[Health, May 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can rest assured that the approval and authorization of vaccine use in this country is left up to the world-renowned regulators at Health Canada. All vaccines that are authorized go through a rigorous testing process for safety and effectiveness, and that review continues even as vaccines are distributed.

Vaccines are an important tool for getting through this virus, and we encourage all Canadians to get a vaccine as soon as it is their turn.