Laurel Collins

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 25th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, the member spoke about the fiscal and economic outlook of our country, but also about how Canadians are struggling, and I want to raise one issue that impacts seniors in particular. I was disappointed, because the budget made no mention of pharmacare. Right now, one in five Canadians is not taking the medicine they need, because they cannot afford to pay for it. This disproportionately impacts seniors. Seniors are skipping their doses, cutting pills in half and ending up in the hospital because they cannot afford essential medication.

The member also spoke about reducing government spending. The national single-payer pharmacare program would save government money. The annual savings would be incredible. Within a few years, it would save an estimated $5 billion per year. It has been over two decades since the Liberals promised Canadians pharmacare, so does the member agree that the government should stop putting the profits of big pharmaceutical companies ahead of what Canadian families need, and deliver single-payer universal pharmacare?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, April 25th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I want to raise the issue of support for students. I met with members of the Graduate Students' Society at the University of Victoria. They were hoping for support in this federal budget, and they shared the struggles that many grad students are facing, living on less than $20,000 a year. In addition to skyrocketing rents and groceries, they also have tuition costs. They are going into debt. Low-income students are adding to their undergraduate student loan debt.

I was concerned when I heard a Conservative member, a couple of days ago, say in the House that the government should be charging interest on student loans. That penalizes low-income students. I think we need to do more to support students, not less.

Grad students are asking for an expansion of tri-agency grants and increased awards. They are organizing a national walkout on May 1 to demonstrate how integral they are to institutions and how they are affected by these funding decisions.

Could the member speak to his opinion on how we can better support these students, who are asking the government to invest in the next generation of leaders, often while they are struggling to put food on the table?

[Climate Change, April 21st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are fed up. The Liberals keep saying one thing about protecting our planet, but then they do the opposite. Yesterday, we learned that the minister has dropped the ball on the Liberals' own promise for two billion trees, is not protecting vital species and is not on track to meet Canada's emissions targets. Canada cannot wait any longer for the environment minister to actually do his job, instead of cozying up to oil and gas executives.

When is the environment minister going to stop working to protect the profits of Canada's biggest polluters and start protecting our planet?

[The Budget, April 17th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I wanted to raise the issue of dental care, which is encouraging to see in this budget. It will make such a huge difference for people who are struggling with the pain of not being able to fix their teeth. We know that for kids, one of the most common surgeries in pediatric hospitals is dental surgery. However, people with disabilities, seniors and kids under 18 are having to wait until the end of the year, I would like to see people able to fix their teeth now.

In June of 2021, the member voted against dental care when the NDP put this forward as a private member's bill. The Liberals voted against dental care in February of 2020 when we used our opposition day to put forward a motion. I am curious, given the fact that these delays are because—

[Natural Resources, March 31st, 2023]

Madam Speaker, Canadians want to see their government take leadership on tackling the climate crisis and creating good union jobs. New Democrats forced the Liberals to do just that in this year's budget, but more needs to be done.

For eight years, the Liberals have missed the mark by handing out billions to rich oil and gas CEOs who are jacking up prices for people and polluting our planet. Will the Liberals finally stand up to big oil, eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and create a green industrial strategy?

[Climate Change, March 29th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member. I enjoy working with him on the environment committee in Parliament.

The member brought up the oil and gas emissions cap, and I want to briefly touch on that.

We know that the Liberals have been dragging their feet on this, and that the oil and gas companies have been aggressively lobbying for delays, loopholes and more subsidies. Therefore, we need a strong oil and gas emissions cap if we have any hope of reducing our emissions.

However, the member did not answer my question, and so I will give him another opportunity. Why not force these rich oil and gas companies, which are making more money than God, to pay to reduce their own emissions?

[Climate Change, March 29th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, the climate crisis is more urgent than ever, with deadly heat waves, summers of smoke and wildfires, extreme flooding and hurricanes. These events are happening now, and they are only getting more frequent and more severe. While the Liberals say they believe in climate change, they are unwilling to take the action needed at the scale and with the urgency that matches the crisis we are in.

In this week's budget, New Democrats were able to successfully push the government to invest billions into clean energy, sustainable jobs and green infrastructure, but I was very disappointed that there was no concrete action on eliminating fossil fuel subsidies in Canada. We have heard promise after promise, but instead the government is headed in the opposite direction, with more handouts to profitable oil and gas companies, ostensibly to provide them with financial help to reduce their emissions. Why would the government not regulate this? Why not make them reduce their emissions and pay for it themselves?

U.S. President Biden's budget eliminates billions of dollars in fossil fuel subsidies, and he has talked about how these companies are making “more money than God”. In contrast, the Liberals think the Canadian taxpayer should be helping out these rich oil and gas CEOs.

A report earlier this month by Canada's spy agency, CSIS, warned that the climate crisis poses a profound national security risk. This confirms what scientists have been saying for decades. It also confirms what many indigenous communities have been warning us about: the melting of Arctic ice and permafrost, rising sea levels for coastal communities. These changes will threaten the Inuit, Métis and first nations ways of being and ways of life, many of which have been in place since time immemorial.

Droughts, flooding and extreme weather in Canada and around the world will mean decreasing food supplies, which means increasing costs for groceries. CSIS highlights the likely increase in violent extremism because of the climate crisis, as well as migration we have never experienced before, with millions of climate refugees, people who will be displaced due to climate disasters and famine, or simply fleeing areas that are too hot to live in.

Our world is changing rapidly and people are scared. They are scared for themselves, for their children and for their grandchildren.

The world’s top climate scientists have made it crystal clear that we must reduce our emissions now. Given the urgency, scale and gravity of the crisis we are in, why would the government continue to hand out billions of dollars to the profitable oil and gas industry? These companies are making record profits. They made more money last year than they have ever made before. Why would the government not force these companies, which are fuelling the climate crisis, to pay to clean up their own pollution?

[Criminal Code, March 27th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, people in Afghanistan are suffering now. It is appalling that the opposition parties have been calling on the government for over 18 months to address this situation and the government just now is acting on it by presenting a piece of flawed legislation.

Timing is so essential because Afghans need help now. In this piece of legislation there is a requirement of 180 days. Does the member agree that we should amend this to reduce that to 30 days or eliminate it entirely because the help needs to be delivered now?

[Criminal Code, March 27th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I share in the hon. member's horror and grief at what is happening in Afghanistan, with the discrimination and persecution that women in Afghanistan are facing right now. It is part of the reason my NDP colleagues and I have been so frustrated that it has taken 18 months to get here. We have needed this legislation. However, now that it is here, we are hearing concerns from humanitarian organizations that it may contravene international law and Canada's international obligations. In particular, Doctors Without Borders Canada has expressed these concerns.

Why did the government not do a blanket exemption and carve-out, like many organizations have been requesting? There are no other countries doing the kind of bureaucratic process the government has chosen with a registry. I am curious if the member could explain how this does nor does not contravene our international obligations, and why the government did not listen to the organizations on the ground and do a blanket carve-out.

[Climate Change, March 23rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, even without the orphaned well cleanup, there are billions of dollars being handed out to profitable oil and gas companies every year. The member did not answer my question about why the government is doing the oil and gas lobby's dirty work. Perhaps, since I have the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader here, I will ask another question on another topic.

The recent allegations about foreign interference are incredibly serious. They further erode confidence in our electoral systems, and the Liberals, today, voted against a public inquiry. They do not seem to see the damage they are doing to individuals and also to communities that are at risk of being stigmatized. We need a transparent, independent public inquiry. At this point, it is the only way to get to the bottom of this.

Will the member commit to pushing for a transparent, independent public inquiry?