Issues

If you ask Canadians what makes them the proudest of their country, the answer you’ll hear most often is our public health care system. However, this institution that we rely on is in crisis.  

Decades of cuts to federal health care transfers by Liberal and Conservative governments, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have undermined our health care system’s ability to provide healthcare services to Canadians. Hospitals are short staffed, wait times for procedures can be in the years, and one in five Canadians does not have a family doctor. 

In some provinces, conservative premiers are slowly privatizing health care services, turning over millions of dollars in health care funding to their wealthy friends and forcing patients to bring their credit cards instead of their health cards when seeking care. 

The NDP has a plan: 

• Fiercely opposing attempts to privatize health services which result in huge profits for private companies and worse services for patients 
• Increased federal financial support through the Canada Health Transfer 
• Measures that address staffing shortages such as accelerating foreign credential recognition and incentives to attract more physicians into family care 
• Increasing medical and nursing school seats. 
• Investments in preventative care 
• Expanding non-profit long-term care beds
  

We need political will, cooperation, and accountability from all actors. And we need national leadership to protect our Universal Public Health Care system. 

Everyone deserves the right to a safe and affordable place to call home. For too many Canadians, a home they can afford is increasingly out of reach due to skyrocketing rents, renovictions and ballooning home prices. 

Canada is in the midst of a national housing crisis impacting every area of the country: Average rents rose in every single province last year, and 1.6 million Canadian households spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. 

What this means in real terms is that families in our communities are facing constant stress and impossible choices between rent or food; living in substandard housing or relocating out of their community; or worse, the real risk of homelessness. This is a very real struggle for so many on Vancouver Island and across the country. 

Our current housing crisis started in 1993, when the Federal Liberals cancelled the National Affordable Housing Program. As a result, this country lost out on half a million units of affordable housing that would otherwise have been built. 

The impact is real and significant. Everywhere I go, I hear from people who tell me that they are worried about their housing situation, whether that be being unable to afford a mortgage, or the squeeze of rising rents. 

A major part of the long-term solution to the problem is to ensure that more affordable rental units are built across the country. One in three Canadians is a renter. In many places, what few affordable apartments there are get snapped up quickly, and people end up living in either inadequate housing or simply forced to spend a huge chunk of their income on rent. 

We need to create at least 500,000 units of quality, affordable housing in the next ten years. This can be achieved with the right mix of effective measures that work in partnership with provinces and municipalities, and build capacity for social, community, and affordable housing providers to provide rental support for co-ops, and meet environmental energy efficiency goals.  

We also need to waive the federal portion of the GST/HST on the construction of new affordable rental units – a simple change that will help get new units built faster and keep them affordable for the long term. 

For those trying to buy their first home we must immediately re-introduce 30-year terms to CMHC insured mortgages on entry-level homes for first time home buyers. This will allow for smaller monthly payments, freeing up funds to help make ends meet for young families. The Home Buyer’s Tax Credit should also be doubled to $1,500. 

The federal government is the largest landowner in the country, with much of that land unused or underused. We must make federal lands available for new home construction and turn those properties into new, vibrant communities.  

More and more, we are feeling the effects of climate change, including heat waves, increased fires, and floods. Extreme weather is killing people, devastating communities and destroying critical infrastructure and environmental assets. 

Canada is among the top 3 biggest emitters of carbon dioxide per capita in the world, along with the United States and Australia. 

The Liberals have accustomed us to half measures, yet the federal government can lead by example by becoming a pioneer in energy efficiency, clean technology and renewable energy. 

Ottawa's neglect has gone on long enough. It's necessary to: 

• End all infrastructure projects aimed at the production of fossil fuels, such as the Trans Mountain pipeline; 
• Put an end to subsidies to oil companies and reinvest the sums in renewable energies; 
• Create hundreds of thousands of renewable energy jobs and transition through workforce training;
• Appoint a climate emergency committee within the Council of Ministers; 
• Create a Climate Bank to finance local green energy initiatives. For example, geothermal projects in alleys, solar panels on roofs, etc.;
  

Left unchecked, extreme weather connected to climate change will continue to wreak havoc on Canadian lives and livelihoods. Losing is not an option - we must fight the climate crisis like we mean to win.  

Aside from housing, one of the most prohibitive costs for Canadian families is the cost of childcare. The government has agreed to introduce an Early Learning and Child Care Act to ensure that childcare agreements have long-term protected funding that prioritizes non-profit and public spaces so that high quality, affordable childcare opportunities will be available for families. I will be pushing for the government to work with all provinces and territories and implement a universal affordable childcare program so that all Canadian families can have access to quality, affordable childcare. 

As a father of three I firmly believe in the utmost importance of universal, affordable, and quality childcare. Every dollar invested in childcare is returned threefold to the economy. Not only is this investment good for the child and the family, it’s good for our economy. 

Bill C-21, introduced by the Liberal Government on May 30, 2022, has caused much consternation, confusion, and division among Canadians. I want to take this opportunity to lay out the facts and correct some of the misinformation that has been shared about this legislation. 

As you may know, I was proud to serve as the NDP Critic for Public Safety and National Security from late-2021 until early February 2023.  

I voted in favour of Bill C-21 at Third Reading. The bill has now been sent to the Senate, where they will hopefully consider some of the amendments we were unsuccessful at passing in the House of Commons. Below I will go over the reasons why I ultimately came to the decision to support this bill after much thought, examination, and careful consideration. I have spoken extensively on this bill at Report stage and at Third Reading stage. 

First – and I want to make this abundantly clear in no uncertain terms – current makes and models of rifles and shotguns owned and used by hunters, farmers, and Indigenous communities will not be impacted by Bill C-21. The controversial Liberal Government amendments (G-4 and G-46) that were presented to the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU) without warning at the 11th hour, were withdrawn. I made a lengthy intervention at SECU in this regard back in December, which can be read here. As I stated, the way the Liberals proceeded with this bill is an excellent lesson for future governments to take on how not to craft sound public policy in the best interest of Canadians.  

It is important to repeat that the controversial amendments were withdrawn from the bill in February. Despite the misinformation being spread by Conservative Members of Parliament, here is the actual text in Bill C-21: 

In the new section that is going to add to the definition of a prohibited firearm, which can be seen on Page 2 of the bill in its current form, it states that: 

(1.1) The definition prohibited firearm in subsection 84(1) of the Act is amended by striking out 15 “or” at the end of paragraph (c), by adding “or” at the end of paragraph (d) and by adding the following after paragraph (d):  

(e) a firearm that is not a handgun and that  

(i) discharges centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner, 

(ii) was originally designed with a detachable cartridge magazine with a capacity of six cartridges or more, and 

(iii) is designed and manufactured on or after the day on which this paragraph comes into force. 

Many people miss or misread the last point, but it is the key part. Bill C-21 does not affect current makes and models, nor does it criminalize the people who own them. In other words, the semiautomatic rifles and shotguns that are currently owned and used by hunters, farmers, and Indigenous communities are not touched by this bill – I made sure of that as your MP. 

I also want to correct the record on the misinformation being spread about the proposed Firearms Advisory Committee, and I want to share a portion of my Third Reading speech: 

“The Conservatives say that the Minister is going to bring this back and staff it with Liberal appointees, who are going to make suggestions about what firearms should be prohibited and then act on the suggestions. I have a news flash for my Conservative colleagues. This is a power that the government already has. It does not need a firearms advisory committee. 

Under the existing section 84(1) of the Criminal Code, the government can change the definition of what a prohibited firearm is when it mentions “any firearm that is prescribed to be a prohibited firearm”. “Prescribed” is the key word there, because that means it can be done by cabinet decree. All this ballyhoo over a firearms advisory council, as well as all the hoopla that we have heard in this House about the dangers of that council coming into being, is a complete red herring. It is smoke and mirrors. This is a power the government already has.  

In fact, I would rebut them on that argument by saying that if the minister currently has that power to do this unilaterally through an order in council cabinet decree, would it not be a good thing to have an advisory council to at least talk to the minister about how maybe that would not be a good idea? If we can ensure that the advisory council has indigenous representation, representation from the hunting community and representation from the sport shooting community, in my mind, that is a good thing. I will let them continue to say that, but they know they cannot argue with me on those facts. Again, I am reading from the bill and from existing provisions of the Criminal Code. If they are going to try to muddy the waters, they can try to argue their way out of it, but the facts cannot be changed.” 

There are some important changes that happened at SECU that I’m proud of. In total, I worked on 21 amendments. Sadly, only five of them passed; a few were voted on and defeated, and many more were ruled non-voteable due to corresponding amendments prioritized earlier within the same clause of the bill. 

We have accomplished much in correcting the most egregious parts of the bill, and we should celebrate getting a solid win for the Airsoft community. My amendment, NDP-0.1, sought to delete the offending clause of the bill classifying airsoft rifles as prohibited items, was successfully passed at SECU. 

My amendments NDP-1 and NDP-3 were also passed by the committee, dealing with protection orders. The National Association of Women in the Law has endorsed the bill for all the changes that were made to make women safer from domestic violence where the presence of a firearm is a danger. PolySeSouvient, Doctors for the Protection from Guns, and the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians also called for these changes. These are important changes, and an important improvement to the bill introduced last May by the Liberals, and they often get overshadowed by the sound and fury over other parts of the bill. 

I was also proud to see my amendment NDP-4 adopted. This amendment provides the legal ability for medical professionals to report when they consider someone in possession of a firearm to be a potential danger to themselves or others. Doctors for Protection from Guns and the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians both pleaded for this measure. Doctors who testified felt they do not currently have sufficient protection under the law (outside of Quebec) not to be found in violation of doctor-patient confidentiality. My amendment enshrined this protection so that doctors can report when a person may be a danger to themself or others.  

I am disappointed we didn’t pass our amendment to exempt sport-shooters from the handgun freeze, but we made a real try of it. On June 1, 2022, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police said in a statement on their website regarding Bill C-21: “We believe that a handgun freeze is one method of reducing access to these types of firearms, while allowing existing law-abiding handgun owners to practice their sport.” Despite one of the Liberal MPs giving a speech in support of my amendment, he abstained from the vote when the time came, resulting in a tie, which the Liberal Chair broke by voting with the government to defeat the amendment. Rest assured; we are looking at other avenues to continue pursuing this exemption. 

Much of the blame for Bill C-21’s problematic legislative journey lays squarely at the feet of the Liberals. They introduced the bill as a knee-jerk reaction to the tragic shooting in Uvalde, Texas, one week after that tragedy. It was an incomplete project, an unfinished thought. They reacted to a public tragedy and attempted to turn it into a political opportunity. Had it not been for this monumental legislative fumbling, issues like Government Amendments G-4 and G-46 would never have been an issue that derailed the entire Committee stage process of the bill. They attempted to rewrite their own legislation at the 11th hour because they failed the test of thoughtfulness and thoroughness to develop sound public policy in the best interest of Canadians in the first place. 

I hope this helps to answer any outstanding questions you might have had regarding Bill C-21 and my position on it. I feel confident going back to the hunters, farmers and Indigenous communities in my riding and telling them that the rifles and shotguns they currently own and use are safe. I am glad we could and did force the government’s hand on this matter. 

youtube.com/watch?v=wa0nRiuYKvc

youtu.be/WkN_7BK20Ks 

Across Canada, seventeen Canadians die every day from opioid-related causes. Tens of thousands of families have tragically lost loved ones to the out-of-control opioid crisis. Every part of the country has been impacted by these highly addictive and dangerous drugs, from our busiest downtown neighbourhoods to the most remote communities. And too often, the impacts are even worse for the most vulnerable and marginalized people. 

Despite the obvious harm that these drugs are causing and the shocking death toll that they’ve caused, the Liberal government failed to mobilize an effective response. They have not declared a public health emergency, nor taken any steps to investigate the role that drug companies may have played in fueling the crisis. The federal government is lagging behind the urgent action being taken by provinces like British Columbia. 

There is much more we can do to save lives and support those struggling with opioids. We must declare a public health emergency and commit to working with all levels of government, health experts and Canadians to end the criminalization and stigma of drug addiction, so that people struggling with addiction can get the help they need without fear of arrest, while getting tough on the real criminals - those who traffic in and profit from illegal drugs. We need to work with the provinces and health professionals to create a safe supply of medically regulated alternatives to toxic street drugs, support overdose prevention sites and expand access to treatment on demand for people struggling with addiction. We must also launch an investigation into the role drug companies may have played in fueling the opioid crisis and seek meaningful financial compensation from them for the public costs of this crisis.

Everyone deserves to be able to age well, living with dignity as a valued member of the community. But years of cuts are making it harder and harder for seniors to get by.  

As more Canadians enter their senior years, we need to make better choices to be ready to meet their needs and ensure that everyone can age with dignity. With the right leadership, we can make sure that our institutions and public services are strong and prepared – and that every senior has access to the health care and social support they need to make life a little easier. 

To deliver these results all across the country, we need a National Seniors Strategy that will work with the provinces, territories and Indigenous governments to make seniors health care a priority, reduce isolation and tackle seniors’ poverty. We need a funded national dementia strategy, and an elder abuse prevention plan developed with seniors to put an end to abuse and neglect in our communities. 

We need a national pharmacare plan that will provide prescription medicine to all seniors, saving seniors hundreds of dollars every year and ensuring that no one needs to choose between medicine and other essentials,  

Many seniors are themselves caregivers to a loved one, or rely on the caregiving of family members. In order to help make life a little more affordable for caregivers, who are overwhelmingly women, the Canada Caregiver Tax Credit refundable should be refundable. This will provide thousands of dollars to the most low-income caregivers, many of whom have given up work completely to care for a loved one. 

The government is failing to close tax havens and tax loopholes for the ultrawealthy. While cost of living and prices continue to spiral out of control, large corporations are making record profits off the backs of struggling Canadians. 

The super-rich are hiding more than $300 billion in tax havens every year and using tax loopholes to avoid paying their fair share. Closing tax loopholes and shutting down tax havens would save Canadians more than $16 billion every year. This is critical tax revenue that could be invested in things that Canadians desperately need, saving our health care system from collapse and investing in a green economy. 

Since the start of the pandemic, big businesses have been padding hiking prices and padding their profits, leading to high inflation that is hitting Canadian pocketbooks hard. We need an excess profits tax to bring inflation down and ensure the ultra-rich pay their fair share. 

It is high time we close the loopholes and shut down the tax giveaways and reinvest that money into our communities, so that all Canadians—not just those at the top—can have the support they need to succeed. 

Canadian veterans have made untold sacrifices for our country. To honour their service, we need to offer the best care and support possible when they come home. 

Unfortunately, for too long, veterans have had to fight for the benefits they’ve earned. For a decade, the Conservative government denied and clawed back benefits, took veterans to court, and cut access to basic care. Nine regional offices were closed and nearly 900 staff that provided services for tens of thousands of veterans across Canada were fired. 

While hopes were high that the Liberal government would improve veterans care, after almost a decade in power they’ve broken their commitments, failing to improve long wait lists and left billions in money earmarked for veterans care unspent. Years of court cases and broken promises have deepened the disappointment and mistrust that’s felt by many of Canada’s veterans. 

It’s time to do right by our veterans. 

We must honour the special bond of mutual obligation between Canadians and veterans, and deliver the services that veterans need and deserve. The federal government should be working with veterans to design a system that provides fair benefits to all veterans, including equal access to lifetime pensions. 

Veterans shouldn’t have to wait weeks or even months or years to receive the services they need. We have to get rid of backlogs and step up high-quality, personalized service delivery by actually providing one caseworker for every twenty-five veterans, hiring more disability adjudicators to clear the backlog, putting in place automatic approvals for the most common injuries, and improving services that are delivered by phone and online. 

Sometimes a sacrifice abroad means being unable to care for yourself when you return, so the caregiver allowance needs to be expanded to include veterans and their famillies.  

Finally, to hold all governments accountable to the sacred commitments we make to veterans, the Veterans Ombudsman must be made fully independent so they can report transparently and directly to Canadians. 

You’ve all seen them: freighters that turn our beautiful waters into an overflow industrial parking lot.

These ships present a serious environmental risk to this critical ecosystem, and it has to stop.

There are over thirty spots for ships to anchor over the long term around the Gulf Islands, including six each at Cowichan Bay and in the vicinity of the Saltair and Ladysmith harbours. These waters have long been recognized as being among the most ecologically diverse and sensitive marine habitats in Canada.

• Due to extreme weather conditions (which will only get worse thanks to rising climate change), ship anchors often drag across the sensitive sea floor habitat. The large, heavy, metallic anchors, chains, and cables can cause irreparable harm to sensitive marine flora and fauna.
• Damaging the seabed increases the level of sediment in the water, which seriously impacts many endangered Gulf Island species.
• Dumping ballast water can introduce invasive species and pathogens, as well as a slew of chemical compounds into our waters.
• Noise disturbance from anchored freighters increases mortality rates for endangered species such as the Southern Resident Killer Whale.
• While at anchor, industrial freighters emit several different environmental contaminants: greenhouse gases, excess light and noise pollution, fuel spillage, and paint and rust contaminants.

Anchorages in the Gulf Islands also violate the sovereignty of local Indigenous Nations, who do not and have never consented to the use of their territorial waters for ship anchorages

Don’t they need to park here?

No. Excessive anchoring is the result of a lack of regulation and the mismanagement of our supply chain at the Port of Vancouver, which causes major delays and increases the demand for anchorages and the length of stay. Technological improvements could allow the Port of Vancouver and Transport Canada to better coordinate ships’ arrival times for greater efficiency to load their cargo. This has the potential to cut shipping emissions and make movement of vessels through the port more seamless, reducing and hopefully eliminating theneed for use of long-term anchorages around our precious coastal waters.

The federal government must act to protect our coastal waters.

Instead of proactively managing our supply chain and providing appropriate regulation of industrial freighter traffic, the federal government allows shipping companies almost free reign. A recent report by Stand.Earth and West Coast Environmental Law estimates that 31 billion litres of wastewater are dumped into Coastal BC waters each and every year. The federal government must catch up to our USA neighbours by forcing shipping companies to clean up their act; it’s long past time as a country we caught up with our neighbours and allies by properly regulating the freight shipping and cruise industry.

We can start by protecting some of the most important habitat for sea life in the whole region by establishing a National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) across the Gulf Islands.

This critical effort would safeguard our waters for generations to come, giving safe haven to species of marine life big and small. In doing so, we’re also protecting our local economy - by protecting salmon, crab, oyster and spot prawn harvests, alongside other seafood harvesting, as well as some of the most beautiful sites for recreation and eco-tourism in the world.

For these reasons, I’ve introduced Bill C-305 to prohibit these anchorages from being used in the same waters that are being considered for a National Marine Conservation Area. I hope you’ll join me in calling
on the Government of Canada to support this legislation to put this harmful practice to an end.