Paul Manly

[Income Tax Act, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I am joining members virtually from the traditional unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

It is an honour and privilege to speak here today on behalf of the constituents of Nanaimo—Ladysmith.

As we watched the COVID-19 pandemic unfold across this planet, this Parliament came to the realization that we needed to take drastic action in Canada to avoid a severe outbreak here. Our first priority was to protect the lives of Canadians, particularly those among us who are most vulnerable to succumbing to this virus: seniors, people with disabilities and people who are marginalized.

From the start of the pandemic, the Green Party suggested that we look at the measures other countries were taking to limit the spread of the virus. In particular, I highlighted the situation in Taiwan and how it closed its borders and used masks and hand sanitizer to stop the spread of the virus. At the beginning of the outbreak, Taiwan was in the top 10 of countries affected by COVID-19. Those simple technologies, masks and hand sanitizers, were very effective, and now Taiwan is ranked at 178th of the countries affected by COVID.

Unfortunately, we did not have the supplies of personal protective equipment we needed across the country for our health workers, never mind a supply of masks for Canadians. We were told by public health officials that masks were not an effective solution to slowing the pandemic. Thankfully, that advice has since changed.

Instead, the drastic action we took included a complete lockdown of our communities and our economy. We took the precautionary approach as we learned about the COVID-19 virus, and we put human lives ahead of money and our economy. We knew that we needed to limit the spread of the virus through social contacts.

As our economy shut down across Canada, we also knew that we needed to do everything we could to protect the workers who had to stay at home and the businesses that needed to lock their doors. As a Green Party MP, I pledged to my constituents that I would work across party lines to do what is best for my constituents and for Canadians, and as the pandemic unfolded in Canada, the Green Party caucus did exactly that. We stood proudly as members of team Canada and did everything we could to put the interests of Canadians first during the pandemic.

We put forward good ideas, such as the guaranteed livable income, to ensure that no citizen would be left in dire economic circumstances in which they could not pay their rent or mortgage, or could not put food on the table for themselves or their families. This is a program we have championed for over a decade, and we are happy to see other parties and MPs picking up on the idea. Unfortunately, the government has not adopted a guaranteed livable income. Instead, it has created a flawed, patchwork system to help individual Canadians.

My riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith is like many ridings across Canada. Small and medium-sized enterprises are the engine of our local economy. They employ almost 90% of the private-sector workers. These small and medium-sized businesses needed help to get through the economic crisis that was created by the lockdown. They needed help retaining their workers, paying their rent and covering the hard costs associated with running a business.

The Green Party caucus looked at what other countries were doing to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic and how they protected their workers and businesses, and we put forward those ideas to the federal government. When the federal government first proposed a 10% wage subsidy, we, along with other MPs, said that was not good enough. We proposed the same 80% wage subsidy that Denmark had established. The government listened and increased the wage subsidy to 75%.

We heard from local businesses, chambers of commerce, business associations and the non-profit sector that businesses were going to need help paying their rent and covering the hard costs associated with running a business. We passed those concerns on to the government, and the government responded with programs such as the Canada emergency business account and the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance program. I commend the government for taking these actions, but just like the initial wage subsidy, there were serious flaws with these programs.

Green Party MPs, along with MPs from all the parties, heard from small and medium-sized businesses, including indigenous-owned businesses, that they were not eligible for the programs for one reason or another. The parameters were too tight and the gaps in the programs too large. There were many businesses in my riding that were not able to take advantage of these programs because they did not fit the criteria. Again, the government listened, and some much-needed changes were made, but there were still problems.

Many small businesses in my riding had serious problems trying to apply for the emergency business account. The big banks kept rejecting their applications based on weird technicalities. They then passed the buck to the CRA, which passed the buck back to the banks, leaving small businesses in a lurch with stressful uncertainties and feeling like ping-pong balls.

The rent subsidy program to help small businesses also had serious flaws because landlords had to apply for their business tenants. This ended up being onerous on landlords, who had to be responsible for the declarations of their tenants. Many small businesses were unable to take advantage of the program because their landlords were not willing to take part.

As a result, many small businesses have not been able to pay their rent, or have incurred serious debt in order to do so. The new rent relief program needs to be retroactive to April 1 to help those businesses that are surviving on a razor's edge.

There are business sectors that have been hit much harder than other sectors, in particular the tourism, hospitality and entertainment sectors. They have very little hope of recovering in the near term. These businesses need sector-specific support.

If we do not support these small businesses, the goods and services they provide will be swallowed up by multinational giants, and we will see the wealth and prosperity sucked out of our communities.

In my constituency of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, many businesses have not been able to make it through the pandemic. They have already closed their doors for good. At the same time, companies like Amazon are making money hand over fist as more Canadians shop online. It is clear that companies like Amazon need to pay their fair share of taxes in Canada and contribute to our government coffers to assist Canadians through this pandemic.

We have also seen how the extremely wealthy in this country have been making huge profits during this pandemic. The richest 20 billionaires in Canada increased their wealth by—

[Petitions, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to present this petition initiated by constituents in Nanaimo—Ladysmith.

We have seen the devastating toll the COVID-19 pandemic has had on seniors in long-term care homes, and petitioners highlight that there were problems in these homes long before the pandemic.

Petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to include long-term care in the public health system by creating national standards for care and staffing levels under the Canada Health Act to ensure accountability; to eliminate profit-making by government-funded long-term care facilities, ensuring funds are spent as allocated and banning subcontracting; to standardize equitable living wages and benefits, and implement single-site employment for all staff; to strengthen government oversight, and initiate strong penalties and clawbacks for facilities not complying with the regulations; and to require independent family counsels with protected rights.

[Foreign Affairs, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has failed to meet our commitments to foreign aid. We have failed to meet our commitments to climate action. We are the fifteenth-largest arms exporting nation. We are considering purchasing offensive F-35 stealth fighter jets. We have engaged in NATO wars of aggression and regime change. We have not signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We recently failed to gain a seat on the UN Security Council.

Will the government conduct a full review of Canadian foreign policy and the role that this country plays in world affairs? On foreign affairs, we are getting an F.

[Business of Supply, November 5th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, this is a motion the Green Party supports. We support all of these programs and we think this is a matter of priorities. When we are talking about this extreme wealth, the member mentioned Jim Pattison. We have a coastal defence vessel that shows up every year, the HMCS Nanaimo. It has a crew of 36 people. It is 55 metres long. Sometimes when it is gone, Jim Pattison's yacht shows up. It is a $25-million yacht. It has room for nine crew, 12 guests and a helicopter launch pad. This is a man who has $7.4 billion worth of wealth and gained $1.7 billion during this pandemic. He should be paying his fair share for our health care system, our roads, our water, our sewers and our education systems that help his workers earn him those big bucks.

Does the hon. member think taxing 1% is enough? Should we not tax more?

[Health, November 4th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the COVID-19 crisis has created anxiety and has negatively impacted the mental health of many Canadians. Swift and bold action by the government helped ease the worst of that anxiety and gave people hope that help was available.

Too many young Canadians today are suffering from severe climate anxiety. The climate emergency is draining away their hopes for the future. Swift and bold government action is needed to combat climate change, and the anxiety and despair it creates.

COVID-19, climate anxiety, financial and work stress, loneliness and alienation are a few of the causes of the mental health crisis, which could hit any one of us and affects all of us. We need to help people before their lives fall apart. Fully including mental health care under the Canada Health Act is the bold action needed to address this crisis.

[Health, November 4th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, undetected and untreated mental health challenges can lead to grave consequences. A bad day can become a bad week, a bad month, and then a broken life. Absenteeism, job loss, dropping out of school, family breakdown, drug addiction, homelessness, violent behaviour and suicide are all strongly linked to mental health. How much suffering could we prevent if we recognized the real value of early intervention in mental health problems?

The downstream effects of poor mental health have heavy social costs associated with them that affect both families and communities. These include loss of business due to employee absenteeism, loss of tax revenue, classroom disruptions, loss of customers due to unsafe streets, increased policing costs, ambulance call-outs and emergency room visits. The list goes on. These costs are borne by all of us, and they leave us with fewer resources to put toward other important priorities.

Julie Chadwick recently wrote a three-part series that highlighted the fact that Nanaimo’s homelessness crisis is a mental health crisis. During a point-in-time count in Nanaimo earlier this year, 60% of individuals experiencing homelessness self-reported ongoing mental health issues. Mental health services in Nanaimo-Ladysmith, as well as in communities all across Canada, are under-resourced and underfunded.

When institutions such as Riverview Hospital in Vancouver were shut down in the 1980s, there was no plan in place to care for people with complex mental health issues. There is still no plan in place, and the ramifications of the lack of planning and lack of action are being lived out on the streets of our communities. The amount of suffering is enormous. We need housing with wraparound services for individuals with complex mental health needs. These people are among the most vulnerable in our society, and they need specialized care and protection to stabilize their lives.

In addition, more accessible treatment facilities are needed for people who have self-medicated with alcohol and drugs to relieve mental health issues and are now suffering with substance use disorders.

It is far easier to help someone going through a rough patch in life than it is to try to help someone whose life has fallen apart. Helping people in the early stages of mental health challenges begins with eliminating the stigma. Men, in particular, suffer from fear, shame and even guilt associated with asking for help. We need to make mental health care accessible.

As the Minister of Health pointed out, mental health support is available to all Canadians free of charge through the Wellness Together Canada portal. I acknowledge the government’s efforts in providing this service to Canadians in response to the COVID crisis. Unfortunately, it is not accessible to everyone and it is not enough. The services offered through the Wellness Together Canada portal require Internet access. They require the ability to navigate to different websites and register for different services. Online counselling requires privacy.

These are circumstances and abilities that most of us take for granted, but when we pause and think about it, we understand that many people in Canada are left out. The Wellness Together Canada portal does not replace the need to fully cover mental health care services in the Canada Health Act. It cannot replace the need for an ongoing relationship with a professional when a person is experiencing mental health challenges.

Canada needs to invest in early detection and treatment of mental health problems, from our education system throughout our society. Fully including mental health care in the Canada Health Act is the right thing to do, and now is the right moment to act.

[Petitions, November 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to present petition e-2615. This is a petition that was initiated by constituents in Nanaimo—Ladysmith who are concerned about the investments of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and in particular, investments in fossil fuels.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to direct the CPPIB to divest of all fossil fuel investments and to no longer entertain any fossil fuel investment opportunity; hire a qualified independent consultant to examine the total Canada pension plan fund portfolio of investments for the purpose of completing a value-at-risk analysis in 2020 and every four years thereafter, which will also be publicly reported; refrain from making private equity investments and to progressively divest the fund of these investments; and discontinue the use of borrowed money.

I would like to thank Brian Fisher and Erik Anderson for their work on this petition.

[Business of Supply, November 3rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Green Party will be supporting the motion. We have been asking for more flexibility for small businesses for quite a while. In my riding, I have been working with a lot of small businesses that have been dealing with issues with the emergency response benefit, the small business account and the banks, and constantly dealing with technicalities for their applications. We need more flexibility in the system.

Our small businesses need to survive this pandemic. Otherwise, they are going to be taken over by these large corporations like Amazon that are able to supplant them. What does the hon. member think about taxing some of these large multinational corporations like Amazon that are taking advantage of this pandemic?

[Business of Supply, November 3rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized enterprises are the engine of the economy in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith. The hospitality, tourism and entertainment industries have been hit really hard.

I would like to ask the member about the contradiction in the Conservative position around wanting to audit people for the CERB. There was a well-known news story about a senior who had two disabled children. They all applied for CERB. These people were not eligible, and the Conservatives wanted to see audits of people who were getting the CERB when they did not deserve it. Now they want to remove audits for small businesses, which is something I actually agree with.

Could the member comment on that?

[Citizenship Act, November 2nd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member mentioned the Wet'suwet'en and the police action there. Was she aware that it was the B.C. NDP government that gave the RCMP their orders? Would she like to see that pipeline cancelled as well and put an end to the fracking and the LNG projects the NDP are pushing through Wet'suwet'en territory?