National Physicians’ Day  moved that Bill S-248, An Act respecting National Physicians’ Day, be read the first time. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley for seconding this Senate bill. It is self-explanatory. Physicians have existed as an entity

Performing Arts Festival  Mr. Speaker, today I rise to commemorate a special birthday in my riding. PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is a signature event in Vancouver's arts and culture sector, celebrating its 15th anniversary this month. Since 2003, PuSh has gone from a three-show series, draw

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister grew up in British Columbia and knows the southern resident killer whale is iconic to the people of our province. Sadly, these marine mammals face significant threats to their survival. For 10 years, the Harper government failed to take any measure

Opioid Crisis in Canada  Mr. Chair, it was a crisis at the time 417 people died in one year in the Downtown Eastside. That crisis moved three different political parties and three different levels of government to decide that we were going to do whatever we needed to do, that we were going to put aside o

Opioid Crisis in Canada  Mr. Chair, again, we can use money. Money is not the solution to everything; political will is. When we have $230 million put toward treatment and only $50 million of that has been taken up by provinces, then we have a problem here. Why would we put more money in when only $50 mi

Opioid Crisis in Canada  Mr. Chair, the bottom line is that when we talk about decriminalization and we talk about all those other best practices that are happening around the world like in Portugal and in other places, no one has talked about Switzerland or about Scandinavia where HAT is going on, the h

Opioid Crisis in Canada  Mr. Chair, I have been sitting here listening to everyone speak to this issue. I have no doubt that the intent of everyone in this place is one of concern, as some have had personal tragedies, and that we really want to see something done about this. I am pleased to speak after

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I must have missed your calling for motions, because I do have a motion that I would like to present, with the consent of the House.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise, seconded by the member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley to introduce Senate Bill S-248, an act respecting national physicians' day.

Interparliamentary Delegations  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the reports of the Canadian delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly respecting its participation at the 17th winter meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna,

Housing  Madam Speaker, did you know that 34% of indigenous persons in Vancouver are homeless? Many of them are youth. For over a decade, the Lu'ma Native Housing Society in B.C. has provided a safe haven for homeless indigenous youth in the province. From its medical centre to its commu

HIV-AIDS  Mr. Speaker, if anyone doubts that one person can really make a difference in this world, I have a story to tell my colleagues of such a person. Joan-E or Robert Kaiser, a Vancouver drag queen, entertainer and actor, is a long-time advocate for persons with HIV-AIDS. For over 2

Canada Labour Code  Madam Speaker, the ways of harassing or intimidating people evolve. Who would have known 10 years ago that social media would play such a huge role in harassment and intimidation, but it does. Who knows what new tools next year or two years from now people will use to undermine,

Canada Labour Code  Madam Speaker, I think all amendments have been considered and will be considered. Again, with yearly reporting and with a five-year look-back to see how things have worked, there will be the ability to see if the amendment was necessary or if the existing legislation addressed t

Canada Labour Code  Madam Speaker, because I have been here for this length of time, I can tell the member that there is no perfect legislation, no perfect policy and no perfect program. We need to look at the issue as broadly as we can, try to address every one of those pieces, go to committee and