House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2015, with 33% of the vote.
Status of Women May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, on a single day, three out of four Canadians seeking help from a domestic violence shelter are turned away. Many more women fleeing violence cannot even access a shelter because none exist in their region. The Liberal budget did not have sufficient funding and offered no money for a comprehensive national action plan.
We need to address this problem at its root. Will the government adopt a national action plan, with adequate funding, and finally end violence against women?
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I would like to discuss further with the member the comments he has heard from his constituents around conscientious objection from health care providers and practitioners.
New Democrats in the all-party committee made a clear recommendation that no health care worker should ever be compelled to participate in assisted dying and that they should be legally shielded from unfair consequences resulting from that personal decision.
Despite my intention to support the bill at second reading and send it to committee, there is still concern that there are no legislative measures to enshrine that recommendation, although we are hearing from the government that it may be interested in non-legislative options.
I would be interested to hear whether the member has further ideas about which side of the regulation that issue might fall and whether he shares my concern that it would be better, for the sake of health care providers, to lock in those protections and guarantees.
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for personalizing the conversation in relation to family members. It is appreciated.
Coming back to the issue of palliative care, I want to thank the Conservative members of the special committee who put a focus in their dissenting report on the importance of palliative care and the failure of successive governments to implement that.
I want to flag again the work that my colleague from Timmins—James Bay is doing on the palliative care issue and the fact that he was able to get the House to agree. It was a rare moment of close agreement a couple of years ago.
I am hoping that the member can talk a bit more about what steps the House and the government might take to bring some of those recommendations around palliative care to fruition.
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's particular focus on the absence of advance directives in the legislation. I share his concern. I would like to explore that a little more with the member. Perhaps he could shine a light on why this might have been missed and how we could fill the gap.
In paragraphs 13 and 14 of the Carter decision, the Supreme Court referred to the cruel choice that is posed to legally competent patients facing degenerative diagnoses, and those who have to choose between taking their lives prematurely or losing capacity later on. The member referred to that in his speech. The solution proposed by the all-party committee, which I salute, was to allow them to record their wishes while legally competent, and then through an advance directive, which would be subject to the same stringent medical and legal safeguards as the instantaneous request that is more identified in the legislation that is before us.
I am hoping the member can shine a light on why his government ignored that very specific and very constructive recommendation.
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, we want the bill to move forward. We want this medical service to be accessible to all. We also want to get the details right.
During the election campaign, the leader of the Liberal Party issued a statement that told us that he believed the Supreme Court made the right decision and that Canada's laws must be consistent with the court's ruling, because that is the right thing to do.
If experts who testified in the Carter case find that in fact the outline of the bill is not consistent with the court's direction and ruling, will the Prime Minister and his party still support the direction of this legislation, or will they bring forward amendments at committee in order to bring it in line with the Supreme Court ruling? Will they seek a reference to the Supreme Court to ensure that their proposal is completely charter compliant?
Criminal Code May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I heard a lot of agreement, but I want to reflect on the correspondence I am getting from people in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith.
One writer said, “I want to have the choice how and when I am ready to die. It is not simply a matter of providing palliative care facilities, but we should definitely have more and better hospice care in people's homes as well as residential hospice within the community. I consider it a basic human right and though it is of essential importance to me in my senior years, I believe that people of all ages should be supported in facing their own end.”
This is an issue that has gone on for a long time and my sense is this Parliament and people are ready to decide. However, following up on my colleague's comment across the aisle, the Conservatives had opportunities to consult, but slowed and slowed.
I think all parties recognize that the Quebec leadership on this issue, so far as thorough and complete consultation, is to be admired. After the Carter decision and while they were still in power, why did the Conservatives not take the initiative and do the consultation we needed?
Protection of Pregnant Women and Their Preborn Children Act (Cassie and Molly's Law) May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I first want to acknowledge the terrible tragedy that gave rise to this bill. Our hearts go out to Jeff Durham, his family, and his community for such a terrible loss.
Despite the good intentions of the bill's sponsor, this bill has the unintended consequence of reopening Canada's debate on abortion, and New Democrats will not risk jeopardizing a woman's right to choose. There are 36 pro-choice groups across Canada—and if I had time, I would read the really long list—all opposing the passage of this bill, describing it as an interference with a woman's constitutional right to choose.
To make the most women and children safe, my proposal is that the kind of legislation Canada needs is much more broad. The best way to protect the most women and children is to take action on gender-based domestic violence against women. Cassie was killed by a stranger, and she is an exception. Nine in 10 women victims are murdered by someone they knew. Therefore, to have the most impact, let us take action to prevent women from being killed by their partners and acquaintances.
First, Canada needs a national plan to end violence against women. Most other western countries have this. Canada is falling behind. New Democrats have led on this issue over the past sessions of Parliament. NGOs and labour organizations have developed a very strong blueprint that charts the way forward. We urge the government across the aisle to take action early on this, and we will stand together on that.
Second, Canada needs more investment in domestic violence shelters. Imagine a woman making a decision to take her children and leave a violent marriage or relationship and then, when arriving at a domestic violence shelter, being told there is no room for her. This is what last week's release of the “Shelter Voices” survey said. Almost three out of four women are turned away due to lack of capacity. With stable, predictable, multi-year funding, both for building and operating, we could prevent women from having to stay in a violent situation.
Because of the strong actions that Parliament can take to truly make women and their children safer without inadvertently jeopardizing a woman's constitutional right to choose, I will not support this bill, and I urge parliamentarians to work together on what will truly make a difference on the ground in women's safety every day.
Protection of Pregnant Women and Their Preborn Children Act (Cassie and Molly's Law) May 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, we are cognizant in Canada that the vast majority of women who are victims of murder are killed by someone they know. Almost nine in ten women are killed by an acquaintance or, even worse, by a spouse or intimate partner.
I am interested to hear the member's view on the great need for Canada to adopt a national domestic violence strategy to combat violence against women. I hope this will have an increased priority, which will affect most women and will have the greatest impact on women and their families.
Housing April 20th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, when we first started this conversation in December, these details had not been revealed. I am very glad that the parliamentary secretary is able to describe the very ambitious program that is outlined for the next two years. We look forward to working with community partners to actually get results on the ground.
We lost a lot of ground over the last decade. Hopes are very high and the need is very strong. We look forward to working with all community partners, all levels of government. I will reaffirm again and again that a roof is a right and our communities benefit when our senior partners support such community work.
Housing April 20th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I am taking up the conversation we were having about affordable housing back in December. I want to reiterate how affordable housing helps everything. It helps every kid get the best start. It helps support local business and the local economy. It helps human health. It helps shelter from domestic violence.
Over the years the NDP has proposed a number of legislative measures to support affordable housing. Examples of these measures include adopting a national housing strategy, ensuring investment in social and co-operative housing, renovations of existing housing stock, building new housing units, and funding community-based initiatives to combat homelessness.
I want to talk with the government about some of the specifics on how it may be able to follow some of those initiatives, but I want to describe two community projects in my town of Nanaimo, just to give a sense of what kind of support we are are looking for.
In Nanaimo, a new supportive housing facility is opening in May. This the Boundary Crescent facility. It is being operated by three community groups: the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society; the Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society, which does such good work in our community for so many people; and Haven Society, which provides emergency shelter for victims of family violence, women and children especially.
The Boundary Crescent facility was built with funding from the province and the City of Nanaimo and it will help homeless men and women transition from life on the streets. It has a strong emphasis on serving women who have struggled with chronic homelessness.
However, we have heard that this facility, as welcome as it is, barely scratches the surface of the need for supportive housing for women with children and for affordable housing in our community. We need the federal government at the table working with indigenous communities, provinces, and local partners.
Here is another great example. Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre is proposing a 25-unit affordable housing complex on Nanaimo's Bowen Road. It is a community-led project for urban aboriginal students and families. It is the first family-focused affordable housing project funded and built in Nanaimo since 1999. That describes how starved community organizations have been of affordable housing funding.
The City of Nanaimo has committed the land and will waive property taxes. The Regional District of Nanaimo has committed funding, and great news came just today: BC Housing has announced that it is going to support some of the funding around feasibility study work and initial construction. This is the first passive energy house in western Canada, so it has a zero energy environmental footprint as well. It is something we are really proud of.
These two community examples really illustrate how much community partners need partners. I am urging the government to describe to us what specific support such projects can expect in this year as they are building and opening. Because existing affordable housing needs federal support, I am also hoping that the government can describe what specific action it is taking this year to preserve the funding to resurrect expiring housing agreements, without which—