John Aldag

[Black History Month, February 22nd, 2019]

Madam Speaker, for Black History Month, I celebrate the Scott family of Cloverdale.

Henry Houston Scott was born in Texas in 1854, nearly a decade before slavery was abolished in the U.S. Henry likely was a former slave but received a homestead grant in Oklahoma after marrying in 1880.

Henry and his wife, Amy, emigrated to Canada with the youngest three of their 10 children in 1912, settling on the rich farm lands of the Clover Valley. The Scotts cleared a rough seven-acre parcel of land and became well-known farmers.

Being one of very few black families in the Cloverdale area, the family unfortunately faced both adversity and prejudice. Despite these challenges, the Scott family contributed a lot to the Cloverdale area. One of Henry's sons, Jesse, integrated into a winning B.C. senior championship baseball team, the Ioco team in 1921. Henry himself was a cobbler whose shoe repair store still stands today. The Scott family had Bose Road, now 64 Avenue, cleared between 176 Street and Highland Avenue, now 181A Street.

In the spring, we can still see the blossoms of their old orchard that represents the Scott family's endeavours to build their new life in Canada.

[Canadian Junior Curling Championships, February 7th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, last weekend, B.C.'s Team Tardi brought home a third national gold title at the 2019 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, making it their third title in a row and the first team to ever do so.

Team Tardi consists of skip Tyler Tardi, third Sterling Middleton, second Matthew Hall and lead Alex Horvath. The coach is Tyler's father Paul. The young Lower Mainland curlers are a Langley-based team.

On Sunday, the gold-medal round was held at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, where Tardi and his team triumphed over JT Ryan's Manitoba team by the score of 7-5.

The team will be representing Canada at the 2019 World Junior Curling Championships in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, from February 16 to 23. Once again, I invite my colleagues to join me in congratulating Team Tardi in another remarkable and record-setting win, and wish them the best of luck at the World Juniors.

[Petitions, February 5th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition this morning that is a follow-up to a series of petitions I tabled in the fall calling on the government to invest in historic places in Canada, including with the reinstatement of $10 million per year for the national cost-share program. The signatures come from across Ontario. I am pleased to present this petition on behalf of those interested in heritage in Canada.

[Indigenous Affairs, January 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we can all agree that every first nations child deserves the best start in life. We know that the path forward includes first nations control of first nations education and long-term sustainable funding.

Could the Minister of Indigenous Services please share with the House the great news from B.C. that advances this important priority?

[Petitions, December 6th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, the second petition calls on the Minister of Public Services and Procurement to adopt the “Delivering Community Power” vision related to Canada Post. This would call upon Canada Post to do things such as transitioning to 100% renewable energy, converting its fleet to electric vehicles, installing public charging stations, installing solar panels and retrofitting post offices, among other things.

[Petitions, December 6th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, this morning I have two petitions that I would like to table.

The first is from the residents of the city of Calgary. This petition calls on the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to demonstrate federal leadership at historic places by working with the Minister of Finance to create a multi-million dollar fund in budget 2019 to support the efforts of indigenous peoples, charities and not-for-profits to save and renew historic places and to encourage private-sector investment and heritage philanthropy.

[Justice, December 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I recently attended the gala of the Langley Community Justice Initiatives Association. This community organization provides conflict resolution programs and services, which have achieved excellent results. It is a pioneer in this area.

Marlyn Ferguson told her story of courage and transformation after her son was murdered. I was moved to hear her say that the association helped her meet with three of the people responsible for the death of her son. Her experience shows the power of restorative justice and the results that can be achieved with this approach. I would like to thank her very much for telling her story.

I would also like to thank the association for the important work it does in our community.

[Cloverdale—Langley City, November 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, tis the season to spread joy and and think about how we can give back to our communities. In my riding of Cloverdale—Langley City, this generous spirit is proudly on display.

At Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School, students, staff and alumni recently reached a milestone, having made 2,000 blood donations in the last 12 years.

The Salish Secondary school launched its first-ever toy drive. Community members are invited to donate unwrapped gifts. The Cloverdale Library, the Cloverdale Recreation Centre and Pacific Community Church are also accepting donations.

In Langley, the Christmas Bureau is providing gifts and food hampers to hundreds of children and families through the support of donations from local families, businesses and organizations.

I would like to commend these schools and organizations for their hard work and generosity and encourage everyone to consider how they can give this holiday season.

Happy holidays, merry Christmas and a joyous new year to all.

[Petitions, November 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present five petitions on the theme of built heritage in Canada.

The petition begins in its introductory piece by talking about the importance of history to the telling of our collective story. It notes that heritage and reinvestment in heritage adds to our economic growth. It can also help with climate change as we invest in buildings.

The petitioners call upon the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to demonstrate federal leadership for historic places by working with the Minister of Finance to create a multi-million dollar fund in budget in 2019 to support the efforts of indigenous peoples, charities and not-for-profits to save our historic places.

[Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by saying that our government takes very seriously the challenges faced by people with episodic disabilities.

Episodic disability is a health condition that we all know about but that is difficult to measure and manage because of its unpredictable manifestations. It is for this reason that we take into account the needs of people with episodic disabilities in the development of our legislative programs and policies.

Episodic disability is characterized by moments of well-being and periods of illness or disability. These periods can vary in duration, predictability and severity. It is because of their condition that people with episodic disabilities may have to take time off work and thus use income replacement programs.

In 2012, nearly 3.8 million Canadians aged 15 and over reported having a disability limiting their daily activities, including those with episodic disabilities. People with episodic disabilities often face more employment challenges than people without disabilities. In 2011, almost half, or 47%, of respondents with disabilities aged 15 to 64 reported having a job, but for non-disabled respondents, this proportion was 74%.

Many of us know someone who has an episodic disability, and many people have episodic disabilities as they get older.

Motion No. 192 proposes that the House of Commons request the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities to make “recommendations for legislative and policy changes necessary to ensure that the needs of persons with episodic disabilities caused, among other things, by multiple sclerosis, be adequately protected to ensure equity in government policy to support Canadians across all types of disability.”

Our government is well aware that people with disabilities face unique barriers that may limit their participation in our society and economy.

Our efforts to support and advance the integration of people with disabilities are not new. Since day one, we have been committed to this goal. In addition, we have improved and adjusted our programs accordingly. That is also why we have a minister dedicated to accessibility.

Our approach is based on collaboration and communication. That is how the government implements its commitment to people with episodic disabilities. We are committed to supporting people with episodic disabilities through many programs and benefits, such as the Canada pension plan disability program, the disability tax credit and the Canada health and social services disability benefits.

We have heard from people with episodic disabilities and the organizations that represent them that they are not always eligible for benefits of this nature because of the nature of their illness. For example, in June 2018, the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology presented concerns such as these in its report, “Breaking Down Barriers: A critical analysis of the Disability Tax Credit and Registered Disability Savings Plan.”

We are constantly evaluating the extent to which our programs meet the needs of people from diverse groups, including people with episodic disabilities. We also regularly ask for advice on how our programs and policies could be more inclusive and better help Canadians. We appreciate the work of the organizations involved in this regard.

We have already taken important steps to provide better support. For example, in budget 2018, our government announced that it would expand labour provisions for a period of El benefits, maternity and sickness benefits. The purpose of this measure is to provide claimants who have an illness or injury more flexibility to manage their return to work and retain a larger portion of their El benefits.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention Bill C-81. On June 20, 2018, we tabled the accessible Canada act in Parliament. Under this new legislative proposal, our government would require organizations under federal jurisdiction to identify, eliminate and prevent barriers to accessibility, particularly in the area of employment. In addition, Bill C-81 would require consideration of the particular accessibility needs of people with a variety of disabilities, including those with episodic disabilities.

Before we introduced our bill, we talked to and listened to stakeholders. During the “accessible Canada” consultations, we heard from more than 6,000 Canadians and 90 organizations.

Our Government recognizes that it is important to ensure that people with episodic disabilities benefit from the proposed accessibility act in the same way as other people.

In response to stakeholder recommendations, Bill C-81 includes a broader definition of disability and specifically includes episodic disabilities. This addition is a clear sign to those with an episodic disability that our government is working to remove the barriers they face on a daily basis. Our government will continue to work with persons with disabilities, including those with an episodic disability. Our goal is to ensure these people are recognized and supported by our policies, programs and laws. Our commitment to inclusion and accessibility is unwavering.

I want to express my appreciation to our colleague for bringing this issue to the House. There is no reason why all Canadians cannot showcase all of their strengths and talents. People with disabilities share the same contributions to Canada's prosperity as the rest of Canadians. Canada is a country where everyone should be able to benefit from our collective prosperity. We will continue our work to shape an all-inclusive Canada.