House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2019, with 43% of the vote.
Air Canada Public Participation Act May 16th, 2016
Madam Speaker, I want to make reference to something the member said.
You said you wanted Air Canada to be competitive. Do you believe the Air Canada Public Participation Act still applies as is, that Air Canada should not have the capability of being competitive by having these changes made?
Agriculture and Agri-Food May 13th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, we want to talk about grain production, and for the 2015-16 grain shipping year, it is estimated to be the second largest on record. The performance of the grain handling and transportation system has kept pace or exceeded the record levels of performance seen last year.
Given the challenges faced by western Canadian rail systems in the winter of 2013-14, the statutory review of the Canada Transportation Act was accelerated by one year and asked to give grain transportation priority consideration.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, this is one area where I think there is a point of discussion. Some people would say that she would have met the criteria of the four areas. It is something on which I think it is necessary to have a debate.
Of course, in Ms. Carter's position, where she was at her end of life will be different from someone else. However, I truly believe, in looking at the legislation, that she would have been able to have assisted dying under this legislation.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, safeguards are necessary, because there are the vulnerable in our society whom we must protect. Therefore, it is important for us to have different steps of safeguards.
Each person who is going through this journey of death is different. I think we do need to have safeguards in place, and certainly the safeguards would be different in different situations.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, this is obviously a decision that all of us have to make individually and take in all of the information that we are hearing, not only from what we have so far from the committee but also what is happening across the country, and certainly what has happened in Quebec. I think that is something to which we all need to listen and be open.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, under the proposed legislation, two independent health care professionals would need to evaluate the circumstances of a patient's health. If I understand correctly, the member is saying that we should go one step further and have someone from the legal community also be a part of that. I think that is up for discussion, something that certainly should be discussed at the committee level. That is why I hope this will be moved forward.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the minister went on to say that her experiences as a family physician reinforced her sense that we must “uphold the principles of palliative care, as well as respecting the rights of patients to make their own decisions about their care as they approach the end of life”.
Earlier this year, the minister met with provincial and territorial health ministers in Vancouver to launch discussions on a new multi-year health accord. Through the health accord process, our government will be making significant investments totalling $3 billion dollars to help deliver more and better quality home care services for Canadians. We expect that support for palliative care in a variety of settings, where patients can receive the ongoing care they need and deserve at the end of life, will be one of the priorities going forward. I agree that there is no doubt that care at the end of life should be there when people need it. We want all Canadians to have access to the best care possible.
The issues in this area are complex. However, I strongly believe that Bill C-14 has struck the right balance between competing rights and policy objectives.
I call on members of this House to support it.
Criminal Code May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-14, which would enact a federal legislative framework to permit medical assistance in dying across Canada.
Medical assistance in dying is a deeply personal issue for all Canadians, as we have witnessed. As parliamentarians, we must consider a diverse range of views on this complex issue. I know that we all take this responsibility very seriously.
The starting point is, of course, the February 6, 2015 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Carter v. Canada. The court unanimously held that the criminal laws prohibiting physician-assisted dying interfere with liberty and security of the person by denying grievously and irremediably ill individuals the ability to make decisions concerning their bodily integrity and medical care, and leaving them to endure intolerable suffering.
The court also held that the laws deprive some people of life by forcing them to end their lives prematurely for fear that they would be incapable of doing so when they reached a point where their suffering was intolerable. The court accepted that the criminal prohibition on assistance in dying furthers a pressing and substantial legislative objective, that of preventing vulnerable individuals from being induced to die by suicide against their will in a moment of weakness.
However, the court concluded that a permissive regime with properly designed and administered safeguards was capable of protecting vulnerable people from abuse and error, and that the absolute prohibition went farther than necessary to achieve its objective. The court appropriately left the task of designing this new regime to Parliament.
The proposed legislation responds to the Carter ruling by enacting a new legal framework for access to medical assistance in dying, including the safeguards that the court called for in order to minimize the potential for errors and abuse.
The court did not define the term "grievously and irremediably ill", but the proposed legislation does define it in a manner that is consistent with these circumstances. Specifically, the person must be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability. The person must have a serious and incurable medical condition. The person must be suffering intolerably. The person's death must have become reasonably foreseeable, taking into account all of the person's unique medical circumstances.
Canadians would have the comfort of knowing that they would be able to get the assistance they need if they are suffering intolerably when their capacity declines as they approach the end of their lives.
Like so many honourable members who have stood in this house to debate this difficult legislation, I have my own personal story that makes this issue all the more relevant. My mother, Eleanor Anderson, spent over 10 years in a wheelchair after suffering a massive stroke at the age of 69. She had to learn to walk, talk, eat, everything right from scratch. Then it happened again, another stroke five years later. She fought back again, but with each stroke a little more of her was taken away.
She never wanted to feel helpless. During those years in a wheelchair, my mother would try her best to do everything on her own, whether it was dressing, loading the dishwasher, or simply wiping down the kitchen counter. During those years, she never wanted our sympathy.
Despite her tenacity, she knew the day would come when she could not fight any longer. She made it very clear to my father, to me, and my brother that if the time came and she was not able to do much more than lie in a bed, she wanted to drift away peacefully. As expected, what we all feared eventually happened.
She continued to have small strokes, losing mobility and function with each one, to the point that she could no longer sit up in her wheelchair, talk, or even eat. We were not even sure if she knew any of us anymore. She pulled out the feeding tube that kept her alive, to the point where the doctors said they wanted to insert a tube in her stomach. That was not the life my mother wanted, and so we said no. We had to let her go. Doctors agreed it was best, and said she would only last a few days.
We asked that she be moved to palliative care at another hospital. Ironically, they said they could not move her because she would not make it, that she would die en route, and so she lay in that hospital bed, and we watched her slowly starve to death.
She would last 12 days, and her death was anything but peaceful. It was the most excruciating experience I have ever been through, and nothing prepared me or my family for her death. I know my mother would have agreed that this legislation is a step in the right direction. She would have wanted to be able to communicate her desire to die with dignity. However, she would have also wanted her family to follow through on her wishes.
Twelve years later, my dad said to me, after catching an infection, “I just want to close my eyes and not wake up”. That is exactly what happened. He was gone two days later. He got his wish. However, I know that many people are not as fortunate, and it is for those people that we must be prepared to lend our voice.
Health Minister Jane Philpott said this in her speech to the House:
...every person, every story, is unique. However, much is shared in common: the hope to die in peace; the desire to be respected; and to have personal autonomy and dignity honoured by family and health care providers alike.
Minister Philpott went on to say that her experience as a family physician reinforced her sense that we must—
Rail Transportation April 18th, 2016
Madam Speaker, our government is committed to continuously improving railway safety and the transportation of dangerous goods for Canadians, and has rigorous and robust rail safety and transportation of dangerous goods regulatory frameworks and oversight programs in place.
Since the tragic accident in Lac-Mégantic, Transport Canada has put in place a significant number of measures to improve railway safety. However, more needs to be done. The government is well aware that the Canadian public continues to have concerns.
That is why the minister will be in Lac-Mégantic next week to meet with citizens to hear their concerns and answer any questions they may have regarding rail safety in their municipality.
We will continue to examine further measures to enhance railway safety in Canada and act on the mandate that the Prime Minister has given to the Minister of Transport.
Rail Transportation April 18th, 2016
Madam Speaker, this subject is a priority for both the Minister of Transport and the Government of Canada.
This government is committed to continuously improving railway safety for Canadians. I would like to assure the member that Transport Canada has a rigorous and robust rail safety regulatory framework and oversight program in place.
The oversight activities include monitoring the safety of railway companies' operations, as well as compliance with rules, regulations, and standards through audits and inspections, and taking appropriate enforcement action as required.
The government takes the safety and security of the railway and transportation of dangerous goods very seriously, and is committed to ensuring that the appropriate levels of safety are maintained.
Since the tragic accident at Lac-Mégantic, Transport Canada has put in place a significant number of measures to improve railway safety, including requirements for securement of unattended railway equipment, improved tank car standards, emergency response plans, and a new liability and compensation regime for federally regulated railways.
Most recently, we introduced the rule respecting key trains and key routes governing the transportation of dangerous goods by rail in Canada. The objective of this rule is to further strengthen railway safety, and the requirements in the rule seek to improve safety and reduce the risks of transporting dangerous goods by rail. In addition to imposing speed limitations, the rule puts emphasis on track inspection and maintenance, risk assessments and mitigation, and allows for the incorporation of safety and security concerns of municipalities and other levels of local government in risk assessments to be conducted by railway companies.
Our government makes it a priority to be there for communities in both the short and long term when Canadians need us. The Minister of Transport announced the federal contribution to the reconstruction office in Lac-Mégantic on January 30. This action reiterates our commitment to support the reconstruction and economic recovery of the city of Lac-Mégantic.
Furthermore, the minister will return to Lac-Mégantic next week to meet with citizens to hear their concerns, and answer any questions they may have regarding rail safety in their municipality. The minister and the government are and will continue to be there for the people of Lac-Mégantic. In addition, the city has mandated a firm to conduct a feasibility study on the bypass track.
Approximately half of the cost of the study is financed by our government through Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, from its multi-million dollar envelope for aiding Lac-Mégantic's economic and commercial recovery. The federal contribution is $441,000.
While work has been done on the issue of rail safety and the transportation of dangerous goods, we need to do more. As mandated by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Transport will continue to examine further measures to enhance railway safety in Canada and continuously improve railway safety for all Canadians.