Accessible Canada Act  Madam Speaker, I was a little dismayed by my honourable colleague's comments. Maybe I should say I was dismayed a lot, because if we get this legislation through, which we need everyone in the House to co-operate on, it would be so impactful for people with disabilities across Ca

Accessible Canada Act  Madam Speaker, I am so glad to hear that the hon. member is supportive of this legislation. I think she said, “Everyone wins when everyone can participate”, and that is so true. The hon. member also mentioned that this is a step in the right direction and the opposition will work

Accessible Canada Act  Madam Speaker, we do have some obvious agreement on this and we are looking forward to moving this legislation forward. The hon. member did say that she does not like exemptions and I want to explain why some exemptions may be necessary. The provisions are included in recogniti

Accessible Canada Act  Madam Speaker, I was so glad to hear that my hon. colleague held a town hall about accessibility issues, something that I have wanted to do. What are some of the best practices he learned from that town hall that could inform other MPs who think they would like to do this in the

Accessible Canada Act  Madam Speaker, I am thankful to have this opportunity to speak about the measures our government is taking to make Canada a more inclusive and accessible society for all Canadians. The word “inclusion” tends to be overused, but, for us, it has a specific meaning. It means making

Accessible Canada Act  Madam Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that many organizations are doing phenomenal work. That is not in question. Many provinces are well ahead of the game. Ontario, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and now British Columbia are really making headway. What we need is a federal acce

Accessible Canada Act  Madam Speaker, I have heard that Hamilton is doing extremely great things in moving this forward, and we can learn from that. We can certainly find evidence, as I mentioned, in different provinces and cities like Hamilton that we are doing well. However, some places across Canada

Accessible Canada Act  Madam Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's underscoring how she likes to use the word may in some instances, but would like the word must to be used in this instance. This is one of those discussions that can be had at the committee level. These are discussions we as a gover

Accessible Canada Act  Madam Speaker, that is a very important question. This speaks to my heart. As members could tell from my speech, a number of times throughout my lifetime I have realized that it is not easy for anyone who has a disability. We all have certain types of disabilities, but some are m

Accessible Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to be part of a government that is moving forward with Bill C-81, accessibility legislation. As someone who knows first-hand what it is like to face disabilities, I wonder if the hon. member could tell us what it would mean to others, especially young

Accessible Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague, who has underscored the importance of moving this legislation from second reading to committee, because obviously there are some questions the NDP want to ask. The hon. member also raised issues about seniors. We are so pleased that w

Accessible Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, there is no question that the implementation and administration of this accessibility legislation is going to take resources and investments. Where possible, I agree that we would build on our existing authorities and expertise. This only makes sense in efficiency an

Accessible Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for sharing his personal story. It really does come from the heart. The other day, I was able to share some of my personal stories too. As the member was saying, everybody is touched by people with disabilities. I agree totally with what he sa

Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member and appreciate his coming forward and talking about his most personal story with his spouse, someone living with MS. The fact that more Canadians suffer from this dreadful disease than anyone else in the world is something we really have to ta

Asbestos  Madam Speaker, I am happy to respond to comments made by the hon. member for Saskatoon West regarding asbestos. Protecting the health and safety of all Canadians is one of our government's foremost responsibilities and one that we are committed to upholding. The Government of C