Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, it stands to reason that I would support anything that would improve and enhance informed consent. The doctor giving the advice to the suffering patient should indeed be an expert in the field. I would also support any argument that would put in that additional safeg

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to the NDP's motion on universal pharmacare. I will be sharing my time with the member for Calgary Shepard. I am going to talk about the affordability of having another government plan. Money does not grow on trees, but that is what the

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am talking about a strong economy, one that can fund a pharmacare program. I am answering the question about how we can afford a pharmacare program of $34 billion, which is what the Hoskins report says pharmacare will cost. How can the government do that better th

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will quote from the executive summary of the Hoskins report. Sentence number one is “Canadians spent $34 billion on prescription medicines in 2018.” That is sentence number one. The second part of the question was related to possible savings that would come out of

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am not sure that there was a question in there. Big pharma spends a lot of money on designing new drugs. The profit margin is what drives them to do that. There is going to be a cost involved. Just making it a universal plan does not necessarily bring down all tho

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, we have heard some examples of drugs that are more expensive in Canada than elsewhere, but for every example like that, there is an example of drugs that are cheaper in Canada than elsewhere. There are state governments and other big employers that come to Canada to

Judges Act  Madam Speaker, it is an honour for me to speak today on this very important topic: the introduction of Bill C-3, which is an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Judges Act. It is important that the Canadian public have confidence in our criminal justice system; therefore, it

Judges Act  Madam Speaker, I agree, as I think all members in the House agree, that this needs to be moved along as quickly and as expeditiously as possible. There is unfairness in our court system today. Although most judges are fair and thoughtful, education is important for them. It is a

Judges Act  Madam Speaker, I would be very pleased to see this bill passed by the House and sent to committee for full debate there as well. The justice committee would give thoughtful consideration to the possible expansion of this bill, such as applying it also to parole officers. I also

Judges Act  Madam Speaker, of course the government side determines the parliamentary agenda, so I am just really happy it presented this bill for full debate. Debate is really important. It is important that our justice system appears to be fair and judicious. It is also important that the

Small Business Week  Madam Speaker, this week is Small Business Week in Canada. This is a time to highlight and celebrate what small businesses and entrepreneurs are doing for our country to make our lives better and our economy stronger. The year 2020 has been a real challenge for small businesses,

Health  Mr. Speaker, when COVID hit in March, Transport Canada made, in my opinion, the correct decision to allow BC Ferries passengers to remain in their cars rather than mingle on the upper decks. It is another way to fight the spread of the coronavirus, but late last month, right when

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join the debate today on Bill C-7, an act to amend the Criminal Code. Specifically Bill C-7 would amend section 241 of the Criminal Code, the provision that makes it illegal for a person to help someone else commit suicide. This section of the code wa

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I realize and confirm that we are being compelled to do this. Sadly, that is true. The Attorney General, in my opinion, should have appealed the Truchon decision. It should have gone to the Supreme Court of Canada. It would have been given a very fair hearing there a

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I will start with the second question first. I agree that more money and resources should go to palliative care. People should be given a real choice. If the choice is between intolerable suffering or seeking medical assistance in dying, that is not a real choice. A