Government Orders
Madam Chair, I would like to thank the member for Edmonton Griesbach for his reference to Portugal, where I believe they have decriminalized drug use. Certainly, from what I know, as a result of that decriminalization there has been some improvement in the problem in Portugal, so I think it is certainly an interesting case study. I cannot say I know enough about decriminalization to give any defin…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, I will try to reply in French. I agree, the solution to overdoses of narcotics is indeed naloxone. I think that all first responders should be able to administer naloxone. It really is the right answer to overdose problems.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to welcome the new member for Cumberland—Colchester. Indeed, we seem to be on similar paths in life, going from being doctors to being here in Parliament. I am really happy that he supports this bill. This week, we have seen some really nice change in terms of all being together on the same page, first with conversion therapy and now with this bill. I want to ask about someth…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, being the member for Thunder Bay—Rainy River, I want to sincerely congratulate the member for Bay of Quinte for his election. He must be a good guy, given he is married to someone from Thunder Bay. I am sure that when his kids started playing hockey it came natural to them. I was interested in the member's comments about businesses in his riding not being able to find employees. As …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, I want to tell the member opposite that although I represent Thunder Bay, I also represent everywhere between Thunder Bay and the Manitoba border, which includes quite a few trees, so I am certainly not just from the big city. I remember that when I was in law school, I read a case with a WTO panel decision on softwood lumber tariffs imposed by the United States against Canada. That w…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, this will be a great weekend for many of us in Ontario because, for the first time in many months, we will be able to get together with up to 10 other people outside. However, this is going to be a really great weekend for members of the Filipino-Canadian population because tomorrow is Philippines Independence Day. For the Filipino-Canadian community, this last year has been a particu…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I wish to note the passing of a well-known, well-respected labour lawyer, Frederick Bickford, a resident in my riding, who represented major industrial and institutional clients for 42 years. A true gentleman, Fred lived his life with faith and gratitude, generously working in the service of others to make the world a better place. A lifelong member of the Liberal Party, he loyally se…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, yesterday was International Nurses Day. As a doctor who has worked 35 years in a lot of hospitals, in a lot of different countries, I have worked with thousands of nurses over the year. I, like every doctor, and I hope this is acceptable to say in Parliament, have had my butt saved on many occasions by nurses who have been far smarter than I. Any doctor who denies something similar ha…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I cannot say that I know what all countries have done, but this has been the course of the United Kingdom and Quebec. To use an English expression, the proof is in the pudding. Does it work? We can look at the United Kingdom's numbers and they have dropped precipitously. Occasionally, in medicine and in life, we have to take a chance. Yes, there is a chance, but in medicine it is al…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the number one issue for all Canadians is control over the COVID pandemic. A large part of this comes down to getting vaccines out as soon as we can. This is not the first time that vaccines have been involved in changing the world. A lot of people forget that polio recently was occurring in epidemics. I, in almost 35 years of practising medicine, have never seen an acute case of poli…
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Madam Speaker, I am not sure of the question with respect to the delay. Canada has done comparatively pretty well. Again, I point back to the fact that we are number three among the G7 countries in the rapidity with which we have gotten the vaccines out. The United Kingdom is a bit ahead of us and so is the United States, but they have manufacturing capacity that we do not have in our country. We …
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Madam Speaker, I think the world globally has to re-examine how in the future we will respond to a pandemic. I would certainly agree with the member opposite that the free market may not be the optimal solution in terms of a global response.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to my friend, Marcel Nigro, who passed away a few weeks ago. Marcel used to work for the Children's Aid Society. He refused to go into administration, as he preferred to work with children on the street. Kids gravitated to him and trusted him. He was always sympathetic, always had time to listen and always tried to help those kids out, whether it was to hel…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by 88 of my constituents. The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to use Magnitsky sanctions against Chinese officials who commit human rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners.
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, the member opposite claimed we could have had effective antivirals made right here in Canada. Could he please cite evidence to support that statement? What evidence does he have to back up this claim? Could he cite a randomized controlled trial, for example, that came to the conclusion that such a medicine could be produced in Canada? I am a doctor. I have a Master of Public Health …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, the member opposite is critical of our government for not closing the border soon enough. I point out that the international health regulations, which we are bound by as members of the WHO, require our government to take the least restrictive measures for travel and trade. I believe these regulations and measures were partly put in place in response to the criticism of the Conservat…
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