Laurel Collins

[Opioid Crisis in Canada, February 8th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I will attempt to speak in French for the first time. I apologize for any mistakes I make.

Health experts agree with the NDP that the government should be asked to use its powers under the Emergencies Act to declare a national public health emergency. This would, for example, allow the Minister of Health to designate overdose prevention sites as emergency clinics, thus making them legal and eligible for federal funding. Does the member opposite agree?

[Opioid Crisis in Canada, February 8th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the opioid crisis has ripped through families on Vancouver Island, where I live in B.C., and across the country. In British Columbia, since 2016, there have been close to 6,000 overdose deaths. This is thousands of British Columbians who are community members and family members, many of them young people like the woman the member spoke about in his speech.

I have spoken to so many parents who have lost children, and as a new parent myself, it tears my heart to think about what that would be like. Most people do not even want to think about that possibility, but we have to talk about this. Health experts, advocates and even police are calling for a different approach to tackle the opioid crisis and the toxic drug supply. It is time to end the stigma to save lives.

My colleague from Courtenay—Alberni's private member's bill echoes these calls. I am curious if the member agrees. The Health Canada expert task force has recommended decriminalization and providing a safe supply. Does the member believe these are essential steps?

[Business of Supply, February 8th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, it is great to see the cross-party support for this change. People in Saskatchewan need their tax money to go to the public services they rely on, like health care.

Here at the federal level we also know that big corporations have ways of avoiding paying their taxes. We need tougher laws and action from the federal government to stop corporations from using international tax havens to hide their wealth offshore. The government has been in power for six years. It has done absolutely nothing meaningful to close these loopholes for big corporations and the ultra-rich. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Canada is losing $25 billion a year in tax avoidance. That money should be going to help Canadian families, to increase health transfers or to invest in the low-carbon economy. These companies are cheating hard-working Canadians.

Does the member agree that the government needs to stop helping them do it?

[Business of Supply, February 8th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, this is about the fair treatment of Saskatchewan in Confederation. Saskatchewan deserves to be treated equally with the other provinces, and it has been denied that. This also privileges one big corporation. I want to give a shout-out to the members of the Saskatchewan NDP, who have been really strong advocates on this issue and who pushed for these changes. It is great to see the cross-partisan collaboration to push this forward.

These unfair tax breaks for corporations are only one example of an outdated system that gives immense power to the big railway companies. They also continue to run their own private police forces, which allows them to investigate themselves when real accidents occurred. That happened in 2019, with the CP Railway derailment near Field, British Columbia, in which three workers were tragically killed. Does the member and his government think it is time to end these outdated special privileges for the big rail companies?

[COVID-19 Protests, February 7th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, when I talk to constituents, they are tired, frustrated and disheartened that we are still in this pandemic, but the vast majority of them are following public health guidelines. They are tired and fed up with people who refuse to wear masks, who refuse to follow public health orders and who are putting others at risk.

People in Ottawa, as the member mentioned, are beyond tired and fed up. They are experiencing harassment and assault, and witnessing anti-Semitic and fascist symbols. Women are being threatened with rape, and residents from racialized and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities are having discriminatory slurs hurled at them. Canadians are also concerned at hearing reports of an attempted arson in the lobby of a residential apartment building. It is terrifying.

Does the member agree that it should not have taken this long for the Prime Minister to start talking to municipal and provincial governments? The convoy organizers were clear about their intent. They were allowed to do exactly what they said they would do. Does the member understand why Ottawa residents are tired and fed up with the Liberal government?

[Health, February 7th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, on southern Vancouver Island, primary care clinics have been forced to close because of understaffing, leaving residents without anywhere to turn when they are sick. Challenges finding a family doctor are not new, but after two years of the pandemic, critical staffing shortages and burnout have only gotten worse.

The federal government has failed patients who need primary care. It has also failed exhausted health care workers because it has failed to reverse the chronic underfunding of our health care system.

Will the government commit to immediately increasing health care transfers so that all Canadians can access the health care they need?

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 7th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for mentioning the protest outside. I think it is important for all members to condemn the fascist and anti-Semitic symbols displayed by some. I hope the member will support the NDP's push to ban hate symbols.

I would like to talk about some pieces of the bill and the many essential measures that are not included in the bill.

There are so many seniors who are struggling after months of uncertainty around the GIS clawback. The government proposed a one-time payment solution, but this promised compensation would not be made available until May. Last week, my colleague for North Island—Powell River shared the tragic fact that this delay resulted in the unnecessary death of a senior in her riding who could not afford their medication, and it is having other devastating impacts. I spoke on the phone to a senior in my riding who was in a motel room. He had recently lost his housing because he could not afford rent without the GIS. He was using the last of his money to keep a roof over his head, living temporarily in a motel, and he was distraught about the idea that he would soon be on the street.

Will the member commit to calling on her own government to provide an emergency payment now—not in May, not in another four months—to keep seniors off the streets and to save lives?

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 7th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member.

I apologize for not being able to answer him in French.

I think it is a bold idea. We need more bold ideas from the government. Unfortunately, it has a track record of big promises but no follow-through.

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 7th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, so many seniors are struggling right now with the rising cost of living. I hear from them every day. It is the cost of food and medication, which is one of the many reasons we need a truly universal pharmacare program.

I also hear from a ton of seniors who have just recently experienced clawbacks in the GIS. Those seniors will now have to wait until May for the government to fix its policy mistakes, its policy incoherence. They are struggling. I spoke to a senior who was in a motel. He was about to lose the roof over his head because the government is delaying paying back the money from his GIS clawback. It is heartbreaking talking to these seniors. The government needs to do more.

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, February 7th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I agree. The federal government has the biggest role to play in addressing the housing crisis. Unfortunately, more and more Canadians find themselves unable to afford a home and pay rent, and the pandemic has made things worse.

The PBO, the government's own watchdog, reported that the Liberals are failing on housing while patting themselves on the back for a job well done, and that the people with core housing need are worse off under the Liberals' national housing strategy. Last year, my colleague, the member for Vancouver East, obtained data showing that the bulk of the national housing co-investment fund, 74%, was going to Ontario and only a small fraction was going to my home province of British Columbia.

The Liberals need to do better. Housing is a human right and they need to start acting like it is.