Wayne Stetski

[Bud Abbott, February 5th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I want to share with members today the life of an amazing man.

Bud Abbott was born on January 26, 1921. During his life, he was a British fighter pilot during World War II; a family man to his wife Linda, his children Louise, Christopher, Becky and Greg, and to his grandchildren and great grandchildren. a Rotarian; a volunteer for mental health; the Salvation Army; Meals on Wheels; Heart and Stroke; reading with elementary school children; singing with seniors; and starring in community theatre. He was Cranbrook's leading man for 59 years.

What made Bud truly amazing was he did all of this up until just a few weeks before his 98th birthday, with an incredible memory for music, an insatiable desire to learn and a passion for theatre and for the people of Cranbrook. He was a community icon, a model for how to live our lives as seniors and a much-loved friend to many.

Bud died on January 30. The city of Cranbrook, my riding of Kootenay—Columbia and, indeed, all of Canada have lost an amazing man.

[Business of Supply, January 31st, 2019]

Madam Speaker, Erin from the homeless outreach and homelessness prevention program in Cranbrook has sent me four pages of concerns that we have in the city of Cranbrook. I will just quickly cover three of them.

A woman with a young baby had to suddenly flee her spouse after a severely violent event. All she could find was a one-bedroom suite for $1,000 plus utilities, as her 30-day stay in the local transition house was up and there was no space in second-stage housing.

A veteran from the Canadian Armed Forces was charged $850 for rent. When the landlord realized this person had a support animal for PTSD, this person was charged an additional $150 per month. There were no other housing options for this person.

Young indigenous parents were struggling for the return of their three children. They worked to get their personal issues in check enough to have them returned, but because they do not have a large enough home, the children are not permitted to live with them. This is a very common occurrence.

Is the Liberal government not failing that single mother, that veteran and that indigenous family when it comes to housing?

[Business of Supply, January 31st, 2019]

Madam Speaker, my riding is adjacent to South Okanagan—West Kootenay, and my communities are experiencing the same kinds of issues and challenges. We have been members of Parliament now for three years, and in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia the situation continues to get worse. The number one issue for businesses is affordable housing to support new employees and new staff. It is just not there.

I would be interested in the member's perspective in terms of the last three years. Have things become better or worse in his riding? In my riding they continue to get worse.

[Business of Supply, January 31st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I know my colleague across the floor cares about people. In that context, I would like to read something that I received from Cheryl Dowden, the co-chair of the Nelson Committee on Homelessness. Nelson is a community in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia.

It states that a recent federally funded count identified 132 people who were homeless in Nelson, which has a population of 10,664 people. That's over 1% of the population. Of the 101 people who agreed to be surveyed, 56% reported that they first experienced homelessness before the age of 19 years. One-third of all people surveyed in Nelson experiencing homelessness were youth 24 years old and under. The overall vacancy rate for rental housing in 2017 in Nelson was 0%.

Does that not indicate a fundamental failure in the housing that is currently being offered to Canadians, and particularly the people in Nelson?

[Business of Supply, January 31st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank my colleague for her tireless advocacy for affordable housing across Canada.

Yesterday was mental health awareness day and in question period, I raised the particular challenges faced by people with mental illnesses around housing. I met with a woman in one of the communities in my riding who is living in a storage unit. I had that confirmed afterward by some of the municipal people. I wonder if the member could talk about the need for enhanced funding for both mental illness and housing and the relationship between the two.

[Health, January 30th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, today is Bell Let's Talk Day, which encourages people to have conversations about mental health to raise awareness and reduce the stigma.

A recent B.C. report has found that 20 to 40 year olds may suffer mental health impacts because of lower incomes, higher debt and high housing costs. A woman in my riding living with mental health challenges told me how she had to live in a storage unit, and sadly it is true. We need to address both mental health challenges and the housing crisis because for many people they go hand in hand.

Will the Liberal government take action now to address these very serious issues for Canadians?

[Business of Supply, January 29th, 2019]

Madam Speaker, first, I would like to thank the member for visiting my riding last week. I hope she spent lots of money during her time there, supporting small businesses.

The opposition day notice says “a written commitment” that the government will never raise taxes of any kind. As the member knows, there is a growing disparity between the really rich in Canada and the rest of us. Is she saying that this means we should never raise taxes on the wealthiest Canadians or wealthy corporations and what would that do for the middle class?

[Public Transportation, January 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, last year, when Greyhound announced it was ceasing operations, constituents in my riding were rightfully worried about how they would get from town to town. Without reliable transit, people cannot access crucial services like health care, shelters for women fleeing violence or urgently needed addiction treatment. In rural areas, people relied on Greyhound to travel to these services.

The Liberal government said it would provide funding, though we have not seen it, and people are still unable to travel. When will the government provide safe, affordable and accessible transit for rural and remote communities?

[Christmas, December 11th, 2018]

I would like to read my letter to Santa.

Dear Santa,

My name is Wayne, and I live in Kootenay—Columbia. I have tried to be a good boy this year, did not heckle even once in question period, but I did shake my head a lot of times. My Christmas list is short, but it means a lot to me.

I would like fair and timely settlements of labour agreements for our postal workers, our parliamentary protective service officers and our border security officers;

That in the future, all trade agreements would make agriculture the number one priority;

That the federal, provincial and municipal governments and all Canadians will work together to fight climate change;

That in our new House of Commons in West Block, we will always put principles ahead of politics;

And that all of our parliamentary family will stay safe over the holiday season.

I know that is a lot to ask for, Santa, but maybe if you team up with a higher power, the two of you can deliver on it.

Thanks Santa, and merry Christmas.

P S. I am only leaving out carrots for both you and the reindeer this year. I am a little concerned about your weight.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2, November 26th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, when I talk to people in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia, the things they would actually like to see in the budgets coming from the government, from any government, are universal affordable day care and getting to universal pharmacare.

When is the Liberal government going to get to the things that are really important to every Canadian?