Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet

[Indigenous Affairs, March 10th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, today's report from the correctional investigator highlights some troubling issues, in particular, the shocking rise in the number of indigenous people in prison. Over the past 10 years, the number of indigenous inmates has skyrocketed by more than 50%. This is another legacy of the federal government's systematic underfunding, from education to social services, to housing, to economic development.

What is the government's plan to finally turn around decades of neglect for Canada's first peoples?

[Social Development, March 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary.

Just today, a UN committee published a report confirming that there is a housing crisis in Canada and calling on the government to take immediate action. It contains several of the requests that I just made. I got some answers to my questions. That is encouraging, but it is not over yet.

The UN also recommended that Canada implement national housing and poverty strategies, something that the NDP has been calling for for a long time.

If the Liberal government is truly committed to combatting poverty, the housing crisis, and homelessness, is it prepared to respond favourably to the UN's recommendations? Is it prepared to support the NDP's bills concerning these national strategies and the right to housing?

A promise to invest $20 billion over 10 years in social infrastructure is rather vague. That is not very much when you consider everything that constitutes social infrastructure. We do not know exactly how much will be invested in housing.

[Social Development, March 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, in question period a few weeks ago, I pointed out that child homelessness has jumped 50% in the last decade. If children are on the street, parents must be on the street as well. If parents are on the street, poverty is often the issue.

In Montreal, two in five households spend more than 30% of their income on housing and one in five households spends more than 50%. Many families have to choose between paying their rent or buying groceries. Children go to school without eating breakfast and without a lunch. That is why we have social housing and why the homelessness partnering strategy was established. Unfortunately, both are in danger. By the end of the year, 100,000 social housing agreements will expire. Consequently, 100,000 households will lose the rent subsidy that ensures they do not spend most of their income on housing. When rent increases from $200 or $300 to $500 or $600 from one month to the next, it leaves a big hole in the budget. Families who are already finding it difficult to make ends meet simply cannot absorb those increases. Where will they find other suitable housing for $200 or even $400? They are very likely to become homeless. This has already started happening. It is not surprising that child homelessness has increased. If parents are on the street, so are the children. The waiting list for subsidized housing in many cities is often close to 10 years.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives modified the homelessness partnering strategy in 2013. Some 65% of HPS funding is now allocated to the housing first initiative, which works only with people who are experiencing chronic or episodic homelessness. Yes, this group of people needs a great deal of support, and it has been shown that housing does help them find stability. The problem is that with 65% of the HPS budget dedicated to the housing first project, funding for all the other groups that provide a diverse range of services is being cut, and we are losing street outreach workers and pre-employment workers at drop-in centres. Rooms are being shut down at youth shelters because they are losing funding. Essentially, we are losing a lot of homelessness prevention resources. We are losing social housing, while at the same time, funding for homelessness prevention is being cut.

The Liberal government will introduce its budget in two weeks. Will that budget include a plan to fund social housing agreements and rent subsidies for the more than 350,000 vulnerable households? Will it include a plan to build new social housing and provide decent, affordable housing for the thousands of families on waiting lists? Will it include money for social housing stock that is in dire need of renovation? At 30, 40, or 50 years old or more, much of it needs new elevators, new windows, and new furnaces. Why risk losing the units we have? Will the budget include adequate funding for groups that work with those at risk of homelessness? Will the Liberals restore the general HPS strategy and let the regions decide how best to intervene to fight homelessness?

Speaking of adequate funding, will the HPS budget be indexed annually? Despite the rising cost of living, it has never been indexed.

The Liberals turned their backs on social housing in the 1990s. The Conservatives followed suit until last October. I sincerely hope that the new government understands that adequate housing is essential to a healthy society and that it will make the necessary investments. Funding for social housing and homelessness prevention is not an expense; it is an investment.

I look forward to the parliamentary secretary's response.

[Democratic Reform, February 25th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the former chief of staff of the outgoing Conservative prime minister, the former clerk of the Privy Council, unions, and student groups are urging the government to adopt a new proportional representation system.

The Prime Minister said that the October 2015 election would be the last one under the existing system, yet nothing has been done since then. The NDP suggested that we create a committee that would include all the parties represented by a member elected in the last election.

Will the minister accept our suggestion so that we can finally move forward without partisanship?

[Indigenous Affairs, February 25th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, far too many first nations peoples are living in atrocious conditions. The current crisis in northern Ontario is just the latest example. This is unacceptable and intolerable. We have a duty to help them and to rectify decades, or even centuries, of injustice.

In the next budget, will the government commit to funding first nations health care services to the same standard as services for other Canadians?

[Employment Insurance, February 25th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, in a previous life, I worked full time in a museum. However, only three guides were full-time employees, and the rest were on call. Because of the nature of the job, people had to be called in when groups came to visit the museum. The guides on call were often students. They had found a part-time, unionized job that paid well, which allowed them to study and work at the same time.

Every January, however, the school groups stopped coming. There were certain times of the year when it was much more difficult to work, and EI could be very useful to help them get by. In 2013, when the Conservatives changed the rules, I mentioned this exact scenario to the minister at the time. Her response was that those people could just find a full-time job. In the case I described, it was simply not possible to find a full-time job. These workers were on call.

Does the member think that this is a reasonable response to get from a minister? Can we really expect that everyone will get a full-time job and that that will solve everyone's problem?

[Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL, February 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, two of my NDP colleagues raised new fascinating questions that we had not yet discussed. Therefore, I would like to go back to a question asked by my colleague from Laurier—Sainte-Marie concerning the type of training provided on the ground by Canada.

Since we do not know what kind of training will be provided, she asked whether it would be strictly military training or also humanitarian aid training. The last Liberal member to speak said, “We'll train them to fight”.

If that is the Liberal vision, how is it different from the Conservative vision?

[Housing and Homelessness, February 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately my riding is facing the same housing and homelessness problems that plague many communities across Canada.

A rent subsidy has allowed Jacques Bacon to live in decent co-op housing for nearly 30 years, despite his meagre earnings due to his functional limitations. If the federal government does not renew funding for social housing agreements, Mr. Bacon's rent will double and he could wind up in the street.

The new housing first initiative under the homelessness partnering strategy, or HPS, brought in by the Conservatives will actually cut funding to measures intended to prevent homelessness.

Due to staff shortages, the Foyer de jeunes travailleurs et travailleuses de Montréal has had to close nine rooms intended for young people at risk of homelessness, and the CAP Saint-Barnabé overnight shelter has been closed in the cold because two out of four staff positions had to be cut as a result of the Conservatives' initiative.

Everyone is talking about social housing, but at the same time, most of the funding to prevent homelessness has been cut. If the Liberal government does not do something to fix this situation immediately, then we are in trouble.

[Business of Supply, February 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP wants lasting peace. We want a Palestinian state that can live peacefully alongside Israel. Therefore, we obviously oppose the BDS movement.

This morning, the member for Parry Sound—Muskoka said that his motion was not about freedom of speech. I do not agree. I think that the last part of the motion specifically seeks to curtail freedom of speech.

Does the member believe that it is the role of Parliament or even the government to tell Canadians what issues they can or cannot debate?

[Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL, February 17th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, we know full well that with the international arms trade, Canadian weapons are ending up in enemy hands.

Does my colleague not think that signing the Arms Trade Treaty could at least help in reducing the Islamic State's power and would be more effective at stopping its progress?

I talked about “signing” the treaty, but I would add “ratifying”.