Ken McDonald

[Improvements to Long-Term Care, April 25th, 2022]

moved:

That:

(a) the House recognize that (i) COVID-19 has tragically exposed long-standing issues affecting long-term care facilities across the country and the frontline workers who care for residents, (ii) we need to make sure the conditions of work reflect the care standards our seniors deserve, (iii) while the management of long-term care facilities is under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, we share the goal of ensuring safer, better care for seniors; and

(b) in the opinion of the House, the government should work with the provinces and territories to (i) improve the quality and availability of long-term care homes and beds, (ii) implement strict infection prevention and control measures, including through more provincial and territorial facility inspections for long-term care homes, (iii) develop a safe long-term care act collaboratively to ensure that seniors are guaranteed the care they deserve, no matter where they live.

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, as this is my first speech in this chamber in the 44th Parliament, I would like to take the opportunity to thank my constituents in Avalon for trusting me to be their voice once again here in this chamber. Without their support, I would not be able to stand here today and present this very important motion. It is my greatest honour and pleasure to serve them.

I am thrilled and honoured to stand in the House today to introduce my first private member's motion since I was elected in 2015, Motion No. 47, which strives to help the government move forward on improving the state of long-term care in Canada. Long-term care is a topic that is near and dear to me as an MP from Newfoundland and Labrador. My province has one of the fastest-aging populations in the country. Our death rate is outnumbering our birth rate, and with every passing day, the demand for long-term care spaces grows at an alarming pace.

Our seniors are the backbone of this country. They raised us, taught us and inspired all of us to be the people we are today. They worked hard and put in their service to their communities, and I believe it is on us, all of us, to ensure there is a dignified, respectful and safe space for them to live out their golden years.

As parliamentarians, we have learned many important lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. I would argue that one of the most alarming things we learned was the tragic state of some long-term care facilities in this country. The pandemic has underscored issues that far predate this pandemic, including staffing challenges, aging infrastructure and lack of adequate infection, prevention and control measures.

Of course, our provincial and territorial partners have primary jurisdiction over long-term care in Canada. We respect them and the role they play in legislating rules and regulations for long-term care homes and nursing homes in Canada. However, the federal government still has a vital role to play. We just have to look at what our government did to support long-term care throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to see that at work.

Our government deployed the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Red Cross to long-term care facilities that faced severe COVID-19 outbreaks in the early days of the pandemic. About $740 million of the safe restart agreement funding was allocated to protect vulnerable populations and address the immediate needs in long-term care. We created the safe long-term care fund, a $1-billion fund that helps the provinces and territories protect people living and working in long-term care from COVID-19 and improve infection prevention and control. Of course, we did much more.

We believe that we must work hand in hand with our provincial and territorial partners to ensure there is a minimum standard of care across the country in long-term care. We want to support the provinces and territories by identifying gaps in legislation, enforcing standards of care and ensuring there is a clear minimum standard of care that should be upheld across the country.

In budget 2021, we announced a $3-billion investment in support of the provinces and territories to ensure that standards within long-term care facilities are applied and permanent changes are made to uphold those standards. The provinces and territories can use this funding to improve workplace conditions and training, strengthen enforcement and compliance, and much more. This is the type of collaboration that needs to continue, and I believe that by supporting Motion No. 47 and creating a federal long-term care act, we can work across jurisdictions to identify a standard of care and conditions that all facilities across our country should be expected to uphold. The commitment to a safe long-term care act came from my party's 2021 election platform and was reiterated through the recently announced agreement between the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party: Delivering for Canadians Now.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the good work of the Standards Council of Canada, the Health Standards Organization and the Canadian Standards Association, which have conducted extensive consultations to develop two sets of national standards related to long-term care. They are the national long-term care services standard of Canada to focus on resident and family-centred care practices and the national standard of Canada for operation and infection prevention and control of long-term care homes. It is my understanding that the draft of these standards of care documents have been released for public review. I hope this important research and consultation will act as the framework for a federal long-term care act and will guide us in making systemic changes that will benefit residents in long-term care facilities and those who work there.

I speak to seniors and their families almost every day, and they express serious concern about the future of our aging population. They are worried that long-term care spaces will not be available when they or their loved ones need one. They are concerned that with increased pressure and requirements, staff will start to burn out and homes will not be able to retain employees. They are concerned that long-term care facilities will not be properly equipped in the future to handle infectious diseases and keep their residents safe.

I share these concerns, and I know that my colleagues in this chamber share these concerns as well. The future of long-term care in this country lies in the hands of legislators like us. If we are proactive and innovative, we can change the course and address the problems facing long-term care across the country. I believe this starts with Motion No. 47. I believe that by supporting my motion and agreeing as a House that we support the creation of a long-term care act, we are taking the first step in bettering the lives of seniors and workers in long-term care in Canada.

I would like to thank all my colleagues for their support on this very important matter.

[Business of Supply, March 24th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I will try to make my question as short as possible, but I have to throw something else in first. It is my granddaughter Sara's seventh birthday today, and I want to wish her a happy birthday from the House of Commons. I hope she is watching at home. I do not know if she is.

I wonder if my hon. colleague could tell the House how we compare to the rest of the G7 countries when it comes to vaccinations.

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, March 4th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it is great to see you in the chair, aspiring to a higher position.

I want to thank the member for his speech. Just to put something in context, in my hometown of Conception Bay South today, a litre of gas is $1.91. It is not cheap. The member is right.

The member mentioned in his speech that the cause of inflation is too many dollars chasing too few products. How do we get more products out there, or less money out there?

[Committees of the House, February 28th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following four reports of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans: the first report, entitled “Striped Bass in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and Miramichi River: Striking a Delicate Balance”; the second report, entitled “Implementation of the Mi’kmaw and Maliseet Treaty Right to Fish in Pursuit of a Moderate Livelihood”; the third report, entitled “Aquatic Invasive Species: A National Priority”; and the fourth report, entitled “Pacific Salmon: Ensuring the Long-Term Health of Wild Populations and Associated Fisheries”.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to reports one, two and four.

While I am on my feet, I would like to thank all the staff who helped make this possible: the interpreters, the clerk and the analysts.

[Act Respecting Certain Measures Related to COVID-19, February 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it never ceases to amaze me, no matter what we do on COVID, when it comes to the Conservatives, if it is something that the Liberals are putting forward, they are against it. They were against the measures to help businesses. They were against the measures to help individuals. They were against the mandates. They were against doing anything related to COVID whatsoever. Now, all of a sudden, it is like they found a new religion when it comes to the rapid tests, but it is not a new religion.

When I travelled back to my riding the last time from here, I had to get a box of rapid tests at the airport. For five days in a row I was doing tests. Nobody tracked it, but it enabled me to know that it was safe for me to be out in the community after those five days of testing.

I would ask the member this: What does he have against the measures that we have taken to help people through this pandemic?

[Petitions, February 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present a petition on behalf of my constituents from Avalon and more particularly from the southern shore area.

The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to adopt human rights and environmental due diligence legislation that would hold companies responsible for their impact on the environment and their human rights abuses.

I would like to thank all the people who signed this petition for their hard work and advocacy.

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 2nd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, at the end of the speech the member said he did not have enough time to cover everything he wanted to cover. I would like to give him an opportunity to speak on the so-called blue economy and how it would affect his province and the province I come from. It is so important.

[Flooding in Newfoundland, November 29th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, last week the west coast of Newfoundland was hit with a record-breaking storm that saw nearly 200 millimetres of rain, causing extreme flooding. Many families have either been stranded or displaced due to the total washout of highways. Some are without access to food and other essentials. I want to let everyone affected to know that we are thinking of them.

I want to thank our Minister of Public Safety and members of the Canadian Armed Forces for their quick response in coming to the aid the people of western Newfoundland in their time of need. I also want to thank rescue crews and employees at Transportation and Infrastructure.

I especially wanted to thank the employees of Marine Atlantic in Argentia for their tireless work this past week, as we are trying to get the roads repaired, people back in their homes and goods back in our stores. They have stepped up to take on the heavy traffic that has been displaced from the Port aux Basques ferry terminal. I want to thank them for their dedication and for protecting our supply chain, especially at this very busy time of year.

[Newfoundlanders Missing at Sea, November 24th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to speak to members of this House about two young men missing at sea off the coast of Newfoundland. Adolfo, better known as Tommy Ferreira, and Michael Gill left Lawrence Harbour to hunt turr on Saturday, November 13, and sadly, despite the best efforts of rescue crews, have not yet returned home.

To the members of the Canadian Coast Guard, the RCMP, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, boat owners and fish harvesters who have and continue to aid in the search for these two men, we say “thank you” for doing what most of us can only imagine as being a heart-wrenching job.

It is incumbent on us as a government to ensure that those who go to sea are safe and will return home to their families each night. We must continue to change our rules and policies to ensure the safety of every person out on our waters.

To the families and friends of these two young boys, I want to extend thoughts and prayers from the constituents in Avalon and indeed from all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

May God be with them.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, June 11th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, when I hear a Conservative stand up and speak about spending and the deficit, I recall how the finance critic, the member for Carleton, would stand up day after day and say we are spending too much and helping too much. I wonder if the member could answer in a truthful way which program that we brought in during this pandemic the Conservatives would cut or give less money to.

It is fine to talk about what happened in 2008, but the world has never seen the likes of the pandemic that hit the globe the way it did a year and a half ago. Which program would he not support? Which program would he eliminate, and what class of people would be hurt the most by doing this?