Laurel Collins

[Petitions, March 23rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present.

The first petition is on the coup in Myanmar.

The petitioners call on the government to condemn the coup in the strongest terms. They call for the immediate and unconditional release of all elected officials as well as political prisoners. They want the government to take actions against the Myanmar military and call for the repeal of an unlawfully declared state of emergency and respect the November 2020 election.

The petitioners also call for an immediate law barring Canadian businesses from exporting arms and technologies to Myanmar and to put forward to the General Assembly of the United Nations a resolution calling for member states to address the long-term threat to peace and stability in Myanmar. They would like to see members of the Myanmar military and their families and associates barred from pursuing education or business opportunities in Canada as well as a draft resolution, a motion, to refer this matter to the International Criminal Court.

[Post-Secondary Education, March 22nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, 60% of student loan borrowers are women. They hold the vast majority of student debt, accrue more interest and have more trouble paying it off. The pandemic has only made the gender gap worse.

On Saturday, the NDP proposed a plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt per person, stop loan payments until the pandemic is over and permanently cancel interest. Will the self-proclaimed feminist Prime Minister stop profiting off the backs of women and students who are just trying to get an education and follow our lead by freezing loan payments, forgiving student debt and ending interest for good?

[Employment Insurance Act, March 12th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, 60% of student loan borrowers are women. They hold the vast majority of student debt. Of the student debt in Canada, a recent report showed that men have about $1.4 billion, while women hold a staggering $2.2 billion. This means they accrue more interest and have more trouble paying it off. Women make up two-thirds of the people on repayment assistance, and this results in an even bigger gender wealth gap.

The missing pieces in this bill, extending EI benefits and CERB amnesty, are measures that would make a huge difference for struggling Canadians but especially for women, who have been particularly hard hit.

What does the member think the message is, especially to young women who are going deeper into debt, when the Liberals and the self-proclaimed feminist Prime Minister will not implement these policies and instead break their promise and refuse to freeze student loans and end interest for good?

[The Environment, March 12th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, Canada has missed every single climate target. We are the only G7 country whose emissions have actually increased instead of decreased since the Paris Agreement.

The world's top climate scientists are telling us that the next 10 years are the most important. We need climate action, a just transition for workers and climate accountability now, not a decade from now.

The Liberals promised milestone targets every five years, but then left 2025 out of their climate bill. Are they that scared of accountability or do they not agree that the next 10 years are the most critical? Why will the Prime Minister not commit to a 2025 target?

[Business of Supply, February 25th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned that he wanted to help seniors during the pandemic, but the Liberal government was only willing to offer them a one-time payment. The Liberals say that they want to help seniors with affordability, yet they proposed only helping some of them, promising to increase OAS only for those 75 and over.

I spoke to a senior in my riding of Victoria. She is in her late sixties. She told me she worked her whole life and now she hates that she has to rely on the food bank. With the high cost of her medication, she cannot afford groceries. This is a reason to implement universal pharmacare, but is also a reason to include her in any OAS increase.

Will the member vote in favour of helping all seniors, vote in favour of raising OAS for seniors in their late sixties and early seventies, or does the member agree with the Liberal government, which is willing to leave seniors between 65 and 74 without support?

[Business of Supply, February 25th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the pandemic, seniors have been facing high costs for rent, food and medications. We must increase the OAS, the GIS and the CPP to make life more affordable for seniors. I want to thank the member for his and his Bloc colleagues' advocacy in favour of permanently increasing old age security starting at age 65.

Talking to seniors in my riding of Victoria, I know that this kind of increase could make a real difference. In the pandemic, seniors have been facing increased risks with isolation and financial hardship, but they are also facing horrific conditions in long-term care. We know there are more deaths and often inadequate standards of care in privatized long-term care.

In addition to supporting seniors by pushing for increases to the OAS, does the member agree that we need to take profit out of long-term care?

[Criminal Code, February 23rd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the Senate, in this case, has exceeded its mandate. It is extremely concerning. It has prejudged the review. I think it is extremely concerning for people in the disability community. People in the disability community have also expressed the point that they do not have adequate income supports. It makes this whole issue even more complex, and I am curious if the member would agree that the Senate has exceeded its mandate in this case, and that we need to have a national income program for people with disabilities, to bring them up to a livable income at this time.

[Criminal Code, February 23rd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, many of the members in the Conservative caucus have opposed the bill as a whole. My concern is specifically around Audrey's amendment, those who are facing end of life and are faced with a very cruel choice, specifically around the people who may actually choose to end their life earlier than they would have liked because the legislation would not allow them to put it off and to die with dignity and avoid continuing to live with intolerable suffering. I want to hear the member's comments on this piece.

[Criminal Code, February 23rd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I have heard from so many people in my riding, especially seniors, in support of the bill because it responds to the need to reduce unnecessary suffering, but I have also heard from people in the disabled community who are deeply concerned about the removal of “reasonably foreseeable” conditions and who want to ensure that the bar remains high for accessing MAID.

Specifically around the mandatory statutory review, this should have begun already. Does the member agree that we should do this under an expanded mandate to consider the question of safeguards to protect the vulnerable in this legislation and—

[The Environment, February 23rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, Volkswagen's diesel engine scandal is one of the worst environmental crimes committed in Canada, but the Liberal government's response was completely inadequate. No one from the government is able to answer questions about why they waited years before laying charges, or why the penalties were so small in comparison to what Volkswagen paid in the U.S.

Now, after Volkswagen lied about illegal levels of emissions and endangering the health of Canadians, the government is letting Volkswagen collect the wage subsidy while the company pays out billions of dollars to its wealthy shareholders.

Why is the government once again looking out for big corporations instead of Canadians and the environment?