Lisa Marie Barron

[Fisheries and Oceans, November 28th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the science is clear. We know open-net fish farms need to get out of our water. We are hearing from first nations chiefs who are very clear that they want open-net fish farms out of the water. We have seen Washington state say “no more” to fish farms in the water. The Shíshálh Nation has also said no to fish farms in the water.

I am hearing an argument that the scientific evidence is inconclusive, which is untrue. There is clear scientific evidence that shows that these fish farms are damaging, and even if that were not the case, we need to be implementing a precautionary approach to ensure that we are erring on the side of caution in protecting wild salmon.

When will the government finally get fish farms out of the water and protect wild salmon?

[Fisheries and Oceans, November 28th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I am here today because I asked a question on November 17 of the government about when it will finally return our coastal waters to wild salmon, specifically by getting open-net fish farms out of the water. The evidence is clear that these fish farms are polluting and destroying marine ecosystems and livelihoods, yet the Liberal government continues to prop up rich Norwegian CEOs, who are the owners of these fish farms, and allow them to continue on with business as usual while destroying marine life and the future of wild Pacific salmon.

The minister's response, particularly in light of the detrimental consequences on our environment and coastal communities, was beyond inadequate, so I am here today to ask for action.

Last Friday, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and I were invited to and attended a ceremony and meeting on the Tsleil-Waututh first nation's territory, with chiefs and representatives from first nation territories across B.C., including representation from Snuneymuxw, which is found in the riding I represent, Nanaimo—Ladysmith. They were focused on the protection of wild Pacific salmon and were united in their wish to get open-net fish farms out of the water.

In this meeting, the minister and I had the honour of participating in a salmon dance, which, as a side note, is something I will carry with me forever in my memories. It was an honour. Chiefs shared the many ways that first nations and wild salmon are interconnected, not only regarding food security but regarding social, ceremonial and first nations' inherent and constitutionally protected rights to harvest fish and provide for their communities. In fact, 90% of B.C. first nations rely on wild salmon. Despite this, we are seeing historic low returns.

Vital wild salmon are facing many threats, such as the impacts of climate crises, including extreme weather, flooding, heat domes, forest fires and warming waters, and all of this while we are continuing to allow fish farms in our coastal waters to damage our marine ecosystems. We see salmon left to swim through diseases and sea lice found in key migratory routes, which is all spewing from polluting fish farms that are being allowed to maintain and continue business by the government.

We heard from first nations chiefs in this meeting, who spoke to the diseases being carried by fish exposed to the impacts of fish farms. They were being described as glowing and covered in sores and sea lice, which has never been seen before. There are endless examples of impacts, and first nations chiefs across British Columbia described to us impacts on both wild salmon and their coastal communities.

I am wondering if my colleague can provide us with action and the reassurance today that we are going to move away from open-net fish farms and finally follow through with a plan to get them out.

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, November 28th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague.

Bill C‑27 does not explicitly apply to political parties. As we have seen in the past, the potential for invasion of privacy and misuse exists in the political arena. I was wondering if my colleague would agree that the bill should be amended to specifically include political parties.

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, November 28th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, this follows on the question that was just asked by my colleague. We recently saw that 19,000 Canadians were affected by the recent Equifax breach, for example. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner concluded that Equifax did not fulfill its obligations to Canadians. It entered into a compliance agreement with no fines, no penalties and no compensation for Canadian victims. We are seeing very different fines and penalties for Canadians and Americans, and Canadians are getting the short end of the deal.

Does the member feel it is important that we have parity and equivalency for citizens on both sides of the border?

[Criminal Code, November 24th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I am happy to see Bill S-4 coming forward today to begin the much overdue work of modernizing Canada's judicial system. We know the government has known about the need for a much required overhaul since before the Liberals took over office from the previous Harper government.

I was speaking to a constituent just yesterday here in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith. She expressed to me that she had to apply to be excused from jury duty due to the costs associated with it.

I am wondering if the member could clarify why the government had to wait for almost a full year before bringing forward this legislation, which essentially is a carbon copy of a bill which was first introduced in the last Parliament, before the House, while maintaining existing systems with backlogs and barriers for jurors.

[Transgender Day of Remembrance, November 18th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, today I stand to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance, and I call attention to the 375 trans and gender-diverse people murdered last year, and the nearly 4,000 people killed over the past decade worldwide just for being themselves. These numbers are a glimpse of the harassment, discrimination, violence and undocumented deaths of transgender people happening worldwide.

Despite this, I am profoundly moved by the strength of so many transgender people. On this day, I am thinking fondly of an amazing transgender woman named Melanie. Melanie describes her experience to me before transitioning as being full of struggles to get through each day in a body that was not her own. After transitioning later in life, Melanie is now happily remarried and living as her true self.

Today I call on members of the House to unite in showing transgender people, with action, that they are not alone and deserve safety, dignity and respect.

[Health, November 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, provinces and territories are asking when they will see the mental health transfer and the increase to our health care transfer as well.

The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, for example, sent an open letter along with 65 organizations from health and allied sectors indicating that the development of the standards of the mental health transfer should not be a reason to delay the establishment of the Canada mental health transfer.

It is also calling for parity in legislation, so the federal government will value mental and physical health equitably, which is something that we do not currently see. Mental health stakeholders are calling for a target of at least 12% of health care spending to be directed toward mental health.

There are so many asks right now, but the bottom line is that provinces and territories need more funding to adequately staff our health care, for both mental health and physical health. When will we see the money transferred—

[Health, November 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I am happy to ask for further clarification on a question I brought up earlier on youth and children's access to mental health supports and the backlog of these supports as a result of Liberal inaction. This seems particularly timely as National Child Day here in Canada is coming up on November 20.

I want to start by expressing that I am a parent of two, and many in this chamber are also parents. I worked directly with children and youth in our school systems. I worked directly with youth and families in addictions. I saw the implications for children and youth directly of a lack of appropriate, accessible, timely and adequate mental health supports for children and youth.

We are talking about the accessibility and location specifically and having it somewhere nearby and having barrier-free access to mental health supports. The costs are a huge barrier. I am looking at free or appropriately priced mental health care, which should be free, and having it be appropriate. When it comes to availability and consistency, often youth struggle to build relationships with a service provider without that consistency, and of course, it should be culturally appropriate.

The wait-lists and backlogs, as we all know, are often months and sometimes years long. These youth and children were not only not accessing the support in relation to the immediate symptoms they were experiencing, but also those symptoms were compounded because they were not getting access to the supports. The illnesses they were experiencing often increased. I saw youth whose medication was either under-prescribed, overprescribed or inappropriately prescribed due to a lack of access to care.

When mental health supports are consistently unavailable and inappropriately funded, it reinforces the stigma attached to mental health supports. It reinforces the narrative that mental health supports are not important. We know that mental health and physical health are inextricably interconnected. We cannot disconnect one from the other. This is not only having a direct impact on youth and children, but it also has an impact on their loved ones. It has an impact on our capacity to support one another in the community.

We need to have federal leadership today. The stats do not lie. In 2020, one-quarter of the hospitalizations across Canada for those five to 24 years of age were around mental health, yet we are still seeing inaction. There was $4.5 billion promised by the Liberal government over five years, and to date none of that has been delivered. This is money, much-needed support, that has been promised and committed that is not being used to support children and youth with mental health. Some $250 million from 2021-22 and $625 million from 2022-23 has not been allocated.

I think of my colleague, the member for Courtenay—Alberni, who put forward Motion No. 67, pushing the government to establish the Canada mental health transfer.

I see I am running close to my four minutes, so I will ask the government when it will be sending this much-needed mental health transfer to the provinces and territories.

[Fisheries and Oceans, November 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know when the government will finally return our coastal waters back to wild salmon. Polluting, open-net fish farms destroy ecosystems and livelihoods, but Liberals and Conservatives keep putting profits before communities.

This week, Washington state said no to fish farms. Now the B.C. shíshálh Nation said no to fish farms, but Liberals keep saying yes to rich CEOs.

When will the Liberals get fish farms out of the water with a transition for workers?

[Labelling of Alcoholic Beverages, November 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have the right to know the health risks of what they are consuming, yet when looking at the bottle, one would never know that alcohol is a class one carcinogen.

Last week, constituents in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith gathered to talk about this exact issue. Many were shocked to learn that alcohol is linked to cancers, including breast, colon, larynx and liver, as well as other health impacts, such as dementia. Despite all this, alcoholic beverages still do not have warning labels.

This is a health and safety issue. It should not be left to rich CEOs to decide what information Canadians deserve to have access to. We need a national strategy, similar to those for cannabis and cigarettes, to ensure the risks are clearly communicated.

The Liberal government needs to take federal leadership today and support the motion I tabled to implement a national warning label strategy for alcoholic beverages, ensuring all Canadians have the information they need to make informed decisions.