Mike Morrice

[National Security Review of Investments Modernization Act, February 3rd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, the minister spoke about the importance of innovation. While my question is not directly about the bill, it is related and I hope it is allowed.

One area where we need innovation is in telecommunications. The prices are going up for people in my community and across the country because of reduced competition. The minister will soon be making a decision about a proposed merger between Rogers and Shaw. We both know this merger is not innovative. Innovation would be giving consideration to what the Province of Saskatchewan has already done, building a national, publicly owned telecommunications network.

Will the minister give this idea consideration in lieu of allowing even less competition in the telecommunications industry?

[Canada Disability Benefit Act, February 1st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member for Port Moody—Coquitlam's powerful speech and her strong support of strengthening Bill C-22 throughout the committee process.

My question is similar to a question I asked of a Conservative member earlier. As the member has also shared many times, it is not good enough to move this legislation ahead. The governing party needs to fund the Canada disability benefit. Could the member speak more to the ways that she and the rest of her party will continue to put pressure on the governing party to fund the Canada disability benefit?

[Canada Disability Benefit Act, February 1st, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I want to start by thanking the member for Kelowna—Lake Country for her support of important amendments at committee from myself and others. It was an incredibly constructive process.

As she states, if this bill passed, nothing would change until the governing party funds the Canada disability benefit. I would love to hear from her if she and others in her party will be putting pressure on the governing party to fund the Canada disability benefit in budget 2023.

[Canada Disability Benefit Act, February 1st, 2023]

Madam Speaker, while I appreciate the minister's leadership on this bill, as she knows, 10% of seniors with disabilities are living in poverty. She knows poverty does not magically end for Canadians with disabilities when they turn 65, and neither should the Canada disability benefit.

Can she explain why the governing party did not include seniors with disabilities living in poverty in this bill?

[Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act, January 31st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by agreeing with the member for Kingston and the Islands that this bill is incredibly important and it will benefit parents in my community, just as it will for those in his.

That being said, I do want him to know that child care providers in my community, such as those at the YMCA of Three Rivers, are concerned about hiring and retaining talented early childhood educators.

As I am sure he knows, the federal government's deal with the Province of Ontario only provides a wage floor of $18 an hour, at a time when the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario is calling for one of at least $25 an hour. This is at a time when we need almost 15,000 new childhood educators in Ontario alone by 2025.

Could he talk about measures that could be put in the legislation, or other actions he and the governing party could take to address this significant gap?

[Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act, January 31st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member for Repentigny that this bill is really important. I would like her to speak more about the need to invest in the workforce.

I spoke with people at the Three Rivers YMCA in my community, and one of their concerns is that it is difficult to hire and retain early childhood educators. That is understandable, because the federal government, along with the Province of Ontario, has set a fairly low wage floor of $18 an hour. As the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario likes to say, without child care workers, there is no child care. It is seeking a salary scale starting at $25 an hour.

Could the member for Repentigny give the federal government some advice on how to fix this problem?

[Petitions, January 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise this afternoon to present a petition on behalf of petitioners who note that Canada has had an electoral system since its inception called “first past the post” that allows a political party to win a majority of seats and all of the power while having less than half the popular vote.

They point out that proportional representation is a really critical principle that calls for the percentage of seats in the House to equate to the percentage of votes received by that political party. If a party gets 40% of the popular vote, they say that it should get 40% of the seats.

They also point out that countries around the world such as Germany, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand and many others have progressed from a first-past-the-post system to a proportional representation system already. The petitioners move for the Government of Canada to push toward a PR electoral system to bring credible representation to all Canadians.

[Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act, January 30th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I want to start by saying I agree with and appreciate the minister for bringing forward this legislation so early in this session, as well as how important this legislation is. I also appreciate her comments about the importance of investing in the workforce. As we have heard from our colleague from Winnipeg Centre, this is an ongoing concern.

I will speak to the specifics in Ontario. The estimates are that we will need an additional 14,700 early childhood educators in Ontario by 2025-26. In the current agreement that the federal government signed with the Province of Ontario, the wage floor is $18 an hour, rising by one dollar per year until 2025.

Recognizing the talented folks in this workforce and the need to not only retain but also to recruit at these numbers, and since it is not just the Province of Ontario but also the federal government that has a responsibility, can the minister comment on what more needs to be done to ensure we are investing in the workforce and getting wages lifted higher?

[Business of the House, December 14th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I would like to start by joining in with a word of thanks to all House of Commons staff, which we have heard already from many of my colleagues, from clerks to pages and from interpreters to the Parliamentary Protective Service, food services, IT, the House administration and other staff on the Hill. As a newer member in this place, it has been interesting for me to come to understand all the people who are part of making our work here a possibility.

Much has been said by others, so I will be brief. I simply would share and recognize that the holidays can be a difficult time for many. It is particularly difficult for those living in poverty. It is difficult for those who have recently lost a loved one and those with a family member in hospital. We send our strength to those who are in positions like that.

I hope that as we reconvene in the new year, it will be with a renewed vigour to address poverty in this country, to strengthen our health care system and to advocate for those whose voices may be more rarely heard in this place.

I wish happy holidays to my neighbours in Waterloo Region, to colleagues here in the House of Commons, and to all those who make it possible for us to be here.

[Health, December 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, in the last election the Liberals promised a new $4.5-billion mental health transfer to the provinces. To date, they have not funded a single cent of it. Mental health advocates across the country are calling for these funds.

In my community alone, almost 4,000 people are waiting for mental health and addictions care right now. Will the Prime Minister follow through on his election promise and fund the mental health transfer in budget 2023?