Ramez Ayoub

[Stellar Gala, June 10th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the Thérèse-De Blainville chamber of commerce and industry held its Stellar gala on Friday. This event highlights the successes and community involvement of our region's entrepreneurs.

I want to congratulate Serge Dion and his team at Jardin Dion, which is celebrating 65 years of operations, for winning the Coup de cœur award and the business of the year award for businesses of 15 employees or more.

I also want to congratulate Rose de Angelis, from the Académie Ste-Thérèse, who was awarded the Jean-Marc Boisvert award for her outstanding career.

Valérie Kennedy and Kareen Lamy, owners of the Steakhouse St-Charles & Tartares restaurant, received the prestigious Michèle-Bohec award for most outstanding person of the year.

I congratulate the finalists and award recipients. They are all winners. Their drive is our trademark. I am extremely proud of our local businesses. After all, Thérèse-De Blainville is the absolute best riding in Canada.

[Highway Project North of Montreal, May 14th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I never gave up, and now, it is with confidence, passion, determination and strength that I stand before you today to say that Highway 19 has received historic support from our government.

This week, our government made an investment of nearly 50% so that this long-awaited highway can finally become a reality. This $260-million contribution was a windfall. In 2015, I made a promise that would greatly improve the quality of life of my constituents. Today, I can proudly say that we have kept that promise. People are getting a lot more than they hoped for thanks to the hard work of all the key players on this file.

Residents of Thérèse-De Blainville, Laval and the Lower Laurentians, let's celebrate this good news. Your government is on your side.

[Social Development, April 30th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, it has always been odd that the Conservatives promise cuts without ever providing any details, but now we know why they are reluctant to share their plan with us.

The Conservatives recently published a so-called tax guide with all sorts of misleading information. Their guide included their plan to give tax credits to the rich, but it failed to mention the Canada child benefit.

Can the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development assure the House that the current government has no intention of adopting the Conservative plan to cut the Canada child benefit?

[National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week, April 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week ended on Sunday. This awareness week is an opportunity to bring attention to the cause and encourage the public to take action.

In Quebec, as of December 31, 2018, there were 164 donors, 451 transplant recipients, and 805 people waiting for a transplant.

As everyone knows, this cause means a lot to me. I am proud that in its last budget, my government invested $36.5 million over five years to improve organ and tissue donation and make organ donation more effective in Canada.

There is still work to be done, which is why it is important to have awareness campaigns and national weeks like this. By promoting organ donation and raising public awareness, we will save more lives.

Have my colleagues signed their consent form? I have.

[Canada Revenue Agency, April 1st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, tax evasion is still a concern for Canadians, which is why our government has invested more than $1 billion to equip the Canada Revenue Agency to combat tax fraud.

April 3 marks the third anniversary of the first reports on the Panama papers. The Minister of National Revenue has already informed us that the CRA identified 894 Canadians in this information leak.

Can the minister give us an update on the CRA's investigation into the Canadians identified?

[Canada Winter Games, February 25th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I have some good news from the Canada Winter Games, which are taking place in Red Deer, Alberta, until March 3.

The 12 athletes from Thérèse-De Blainville deserve to be recognized for their talent, perseverance and discipline. It has taken a lot of determination and sacrifice for these high-calibre athletes to achieve their dream and represent their community with such distinction. They can be sure that their community is proud of them.

Lorraine native Edouard Thérriault won two gold medals and one silver medal in freestyle skiing. Émilie Villeneuve, who is also from Lorraine, took home gold with her synchronized skating team. Léa Tessier, who is from Blainville, won gold in the short track speed skating team relay. Fellow Blainville resident Gabrielle Deslauriers captured a gold medal and a bronze medal in artistic gymnastics.

The games are not over yet. Anything can happen, and we will keep dreaming with them. I congratulate these athletes for being an inspiration and setting a great example for everyone.

[Business of Supply, February 5th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, it is always interesting to hear the member opposite repeat himself over and over again, yet he never has any answers. We are asking him once again what his plan is to preserve these jobs, to strike a balance while also saving money, as the Conservatives have promised. As with the environment, there is no plan. He mentioned waste water. Once again, what is their plan, apart from saying they are going to resolve the issue, that they are travelling around Quebec and they are going to solve the problems?

What the member is doing is preaching, and interestingly, this is an election year. In an election year, the Conservatives are offering something to Quebec and refusing the rest of Canada the same thing. I look forward to seeing what happens in the rest of Canada.

What is happening? Does the member opposite, my colleague, have an answer? Will he share his plan with us? We are still waiting for the Conservatives' plans. I look forward to a plan.

[National Suicide Prevention Action Plan, February 4th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to discuss suicide prevention in the context of the debate on Motion No. 174 moved by my colleague, the member for Timmins—James Bay.

Suicide is a complex issue that affects many Canadians, as well as their families and communities. That is why suicide prevention and improving Canadians' mental health are a priority for our government. I would actually like to take this opportunity to point out that this week is National Suicide Prevention Week in Quebec. This is Quebec's 29th National Suicide Prevention Week, and this year's theme is “Talking About Suicide Saves Lives”. That is what we are doing here today.

I am honoured to speak today about a few initiatives and broader government investments regarding suicide prevention and mental health.

The Government of Canada is working with partners to foster and protect the health of Canadians. To that end, we support programs that improve mental health and well-being and help prevent suicide.

Mental health support is key to suicide prevention. In 2017, our government signed an agreement with the provinces and territories to provide funding for mental health over the next 10 years. This funding includes $5 billion in new targeted investments to help the provinces and territories improve access to mental health and addiction services.

Some provinces and territories have included suicide prevention activities in their agreements. For example, the Northwest Territories are developing a suicide prevention and crisis support network to support suicide prevention activities in communities and provide expert and timely intervention in times of crisis. Saskatchewan will support community-developed strategies to prevent suicide and build clinical capacity to assess and treat mental health concerns in children and youth.

The federal government bases its comprehensive suicide prevention efforts on the 2016 federal framework for suicide prevention, which harmonizes federal suicide prevention activities and complements the important work carried out by our partners. The primary objectives of the federal government framework are to reduce stigma and raise public awareness of suicide prevention; connect Canadians, information and resources; and accelerate the use of research and innovation in suicide prevention.

A nearly $3-million investment in this framework to support the Canadian suicide prevention service will give people across the country 24-hour access to crisis support.

Suicide has been a concern in indigenous communities. The suicide rates are higher than average in some first nations communities and in all Inuit regions.

The parts of the national suicide prevention action plan specific to indigenous peoples are in line with the frameworks guiding our government's approach to mental wellness, such as the first nations mental wellness continuum framework and the national Inuit suicide prevention strategy.

These frameworks speak to the need for a transformative and whole-of-government approach to supporting mental wellness and promoting reconciliation and healing. They present a comprehensive approach to mental wellness services by putting the emphasis on cultural continuity, self-determination by the community, and social determinants of health specific to indigenous peoples.

Every year, our government contributes $350 million in funding for mental wellness community services in first nations and Inuit communities.

This funding is used to support mental health and suicide prevention programs, substance use prevention and treatment, mental wellness teams, the Hope for Wellness Help Line, and the Indian residential schools resolution health support program.

We also know that suicide affects several other populations receiving federal government help, including members of the Canadian Armed Forces and veterans.

That is why we released the CAF-VAC joint suicide prevention strategy in 2017. The strategy is a comprehensive approach to preventing suicide among our military members and veterans.

This strategy is consistent with the approach outlined in the federal framework for suicide prevention, which states that suicide is a serious public health issue. It outlines an approach that seeks to reduce risks, build resilience, and prevent suicide among military members and veterans, as detailed in two action plans developed by the Canadian Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Canada.

Some of the actions in the Veterans Affairs Canada action plan include a new emergency fund that provides financial support to veterans, their families or their survivors whose well-being is at risk; sustained expansion of the network of operational stress injury clinics; mental health first aid training for veterans; a veteran family program; an education and training benefit; and online support for veteran families and caregivers.

As part of this strategy, the Canadian Armed Forces partnered with the Canadian Psychiatric Association and released the Clinician Handbook on Suicide Prevention. This evidence-based handbook equips health care providers to screen, assess and manage patients at risk for suicide. The Canadian Armed Forces also continue to expand their telemental health resources to reduce wait times and geographic obstacles that would limit access to care.

Our government supports and also establishes partnerships to conduct research on mental health and suicide prevention. From 2013-14 to 2017-18, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, or CIHR, invested more than $15 million in suicide research.

To address one of the main challenges to suicide prevention, the rapid access to mental health services, CIHR, in partnership with the Graham Boeckh Foundation, supports ACCESS Open Minds. This national initiative is transforming the way in which youth aged 11 to 25 access mental health services by developing and testing evidence-based mental health solutions. This initiative guarantees quick access to mental health assessment services and to appropriate services matching specific needs.

The ACCESS Open Minds network currently has 14 sites in six provinces and one territory. Each site serves the local needs of its respective community. This initiative represents a total investment of $25 million by the federal government and the foundation.

What is more, mental health and suicide constitute one of the priority areas in the government's pathways to health equity for aboriginal peoples initiative. The purpose of this initiative is to promote health equity for aboriginal peoples and apply knowledge to improve health. The research projects funded under this initiative will help develop an evidence base to guide the design, implementation and delivery of programs and policies to prevent suicide and promote the health and well-being of indigenous people.

We are also interested in approaches that decrease the impact of suicide in communities across the country. The Mental Health Commission of Canada launched the roots of hope project, which draws on community expertise to implement relevant, evidence-based suicide prevention interventions in Canadian communities. Experimental research projects are under way in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, and the opening of another site in Alberta has been confirmed.

The Mental Health Commission of Canada also worked with partners to design suicide prevention training for health care professionals and to develop resources for people who have attempted suicided and those who have lost a loved one to suicide.

Going forward, our government will keep working toward suicide prevention together with service providers, our partners, and those with lived experience, including national indigenous organizations and indigenous communities in general.

We know that by working together and collaborating with our partners, we can build a country in which suicide is prevented and hope and resilience become a reality for us all.

[Laurentian Association for the Hearing Impaired, December 3rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, today, people around the world are celebrating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

This year's theme focuses on empowering persons with disabilities for an inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. To that end, I would like to pay tribute to the Association des personnes avec problèmes auditifs des Laurentides, or APPAL, which has been working for 30 years to improve the quality of life of hearing-impaired people in the Laurentian region.

I would like to take this opportunity to salute the volunteers of APPAL. I especially want to thank Marylyn Laurier, the executive director, for her tireless dedication to helping hearing-impaired people in our region.

[Jean-Denis Dionne, November 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jean-Denis Dionne, one of the pillars of the water polo community in Quebec and Canada.

Mr. Dionne was one of the founders of the Hydres Club in Sainte-Foy, Quebec. He was president of the Quebec Water Polo Federation and represented Quebec within Water Polo Canada as vice-president and director.

Mr. Dionne was a strong supporter of the inclusion of women's water polo at the Olympic Games. Having played water polo at the national level for several years, I was able to benefit from and see the importance of his work.

To honour his lasting impact, the Quebec Water Polo Federation created the Jean-Denis Dionne Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions by administrators of the sport in Quebec.

He leaves behind a significant legacy to the world of sport. On behalf of the Canadian water polo community, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Mr. Dionne's friends and family.