Mike Morrice

[Domestic Violence Prevention, March 24th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to recognize a unique and effective approach to domestic violence prevention and education that is happening in my community and reaching people throughout North America.

She Is Your Neighbour is a powerful awareness project and storytelling series created by the incredible team at Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. The podcast explores the realities and complexities of domestic violence. The stories talk about the many types of abuse. They address myths about victims and survivors. They discuss the role of men and more.

Throughout the series, they emphasize that we all have a role to play in ending domestic violence. Their third season comes out in May and features some amazing guests, including Anna Maria Tremonti.

I invite all colleagues in the House, and in fact all Canadians, to listen in for themselves. They can find She Is Your Neighbour wherever they download podcasts or online at sheisyourneighbour.com.

[Business of Supply, March 24th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Montcalm for his speech.

I want to follow up on a question his colleague, the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, asked the Minister of Health earlier this morning.

Given that vaccination rates remain significantly lower—below 15%—in low-income countries, we obviously need to do more to support global vaccine equity if we are to get through this pandemic.

Can my colleague comment on the importance of Canada supporting the World Trade Organization's efforts to temporarily waive certain parts of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights as it relates to COVID-19 technologies?

I thank my colleague for his patience as I work on my French.

[Government Programs, March 22nd, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, my question in reply is simply, when?

We know that the previous bill, Bill C-35, was introduced in the last parliamentary session two months before the election. In the time since, 43 senators have joined the call and signed on, asking that we fast-track this critical support. Knowing there is so much existing support within the governing party, knowing there is support in the other place and, most importantly, knowing that Canadians with disabilities across the country have been calling out for years and that organizations like Disability Without Poverty have been doing such critical convening to bring that voice to government, can the parliamentary secretary share when this legislation will be reintroduced in this place? If not, what more is required to demonstrate how critical it is for exactly that to happen?

[Government Programs, March 22nd, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by sharing with you about Hayden and his mom Rebecca from my community. Hayden was born with Cornelia de Lange syndrome with epilepsy and microcephaly. When Hayden was a child, he and Rebecca had access to various supports, including the disability tax credit and assistance for children with severe disabilities. His mom describes him as the most smiley, happiest, chattiest boy.

When he turned 18, though, the supports his mom received dropped off like a cliff. The first three months, while waiting for the Ontario disability support program, they had no support at all. Then when ODSP did kick in, with nothing provided retroactively, it provided not nearly enough and very little supplemental for Hayden's additional needs.

As an example, Hayden required a particularly special diet, for which they put in a request for an additional $1,000 a month, a request that was never approved. His mom, as a result, had to go about making impossible choices about what had to go and what could stay. For example cans of Ensure, a necessary supplement for Hayden's diet, were ratcheted way back.

Hayden went downhill fast. Within a year, this past December, Hayden passed away. His mom describes her relationship with various government entities as like being in an abusive relationship. She shared with me that all she wanted were basic human rights. There were not enough funds provided even for a funeral, so they had a simple visitation instead. From this, Rebecca still owes $3,000. She is slowly paying it down.

As a country, we let Hayden down. We let Rebecca down. There are so many others across the country. In fact, Rebecca herself has spoken with four other parents, each with similar devastating stories. We could choose to do so much better for them and for all Canadians across the country with disabilities.

It is why the Canada disability benefit would be so critical, a guaranteed livable income for Canadians with disabilities. It is no wonder it is already supported by 89% of Canadians. Is there much of anything that 89% of us can all agree on? We know Canadians with disabilities are disproportionately living in poverty across the country. Over 40% of those living in poverty would be brought up through this support.

We need to not only fast-track the Canada disability benefit, but also ensure that Canadians with disabilities are involved every step of the way, as we have been hearing, not only from individuals and organizations in my community but also from folks right across the country. There is a recent petition that secured almost 18,000 signatories, each of whom are just looking for a glimmer of hope.

Can the minister share the progress made in working to fast-track the Canada disability benefit? As Rebecca would say, everybody has a Hayden. Every day that we wait for the Canada disability benefit, we risk losing another Hayden. This legislation would save lives, and it is far past time we get it done.

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue for his speech and his calls for action concerning the climate crisis.

If members of Parliament were really serious about addressing affordability and climate change, what could they do with the $18 billion that goes toward subsidies for fossil fuels?

How could we use that money to make life more affordable for Canadians and Quebeckers?

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member for Burnaby North—Seymour's thoughtful response to this motion this morning. I appreciate his focus on measures that would address affordability. If we are talking about affordability in this place, we should be talking about affordability for those who need it most and recognizing that it is Canadians with disabilities who are disproportionately living in poverty. Up to 40% of those living in poverty across the country are Canadians with disabilities.

I wonder if the member would comment on the need to go further and to fast-track a Canada disability benefit or any other measure he would put forward in order to meaningfully address affordability for a group of people across the country who need it most.

[Rail Transportation, March 21st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think the minister answered my colleague's question earlier, so I would like to try it again.

Following decades of underinvestment in Via Rail, last week the federal government began to solicit the private sector to not only co-develop, but operate and maintain high-frequency rail in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor. We know that privatization is short-sighted. We know it puts public money toward corporate profits and jeopardizes good jobs.

Will the Minister of Transport reconsider and assure the House that Via Rail is not on the verge of being privatized?

[Business of Supply, March 21st, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I would like to start by letting everyone know that the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands and I intend on strongly supporting this motion for many of the reasons we have heard this afternoon already. We recognize that this encourages the government to do what it already said it intended to do. It is very constructive in that way and it goes further to point toward ways that we can not only address wealth inequality but do so in a way that actually strengthens our social safety net at the same time.

The member for Burnaby North—Seymour mentioned the underused housing tax in his speech. I and others in this place have raised that issue also, recognizing that the cost of housing in Kitchener, for example, has gone up almost 34% in the last year alone.

There are some sizable exemptions to what the government has proposed. Could he provide his personal opinion on going further and maybe reducing the exemptions so that Canadians and corporations too would be able to contribute to ensure that we remove this kind of opportunity for folks to speculate on homes in place of living in them?

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, March 4th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by saying how much I appreciate the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge mentioning the cost of housing in his speech. In Kitchener, as he might know already, the cost of housing went up over 32% in the last year alone.

He mentioned an interest in going further and being more bold. For example, the underused housing tax that is in this legislation would only be for those who are non-Canadian, non-permanent residents. I wonder if, on the topic of blind bidding, for example, he might be interested in sharing more about his personal views on how we could go further to address the housing crisis we are in.

[Petitions, March 4th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present a petition this afternoon from neighbours of mine in Kitchener. They too are concerned about companies across the country that are contributing to human rights abuses and environmental damage around the world.

They call on this House to adopt human rights and environmental due diligence legislation that would, among other items, require companies to prevent adverse human rights impacts and environmental damage throughout their global operations in the supply chains, require companies to do their due diligence and result in meaningful consequences for companies that failed to do so.