Deb Schulte

[Committees of the House, May 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, entitled “Main Estimates 2017-18: Vote 1 under Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Votes 1, 5 and 10 under Department of the Environment and Votes 1 and 5 under Parks Canada Agency”.

[Committees of the House, March 24th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, entitled Taking Action Today: Establishing Protected Areas for Canada's Future. The committee is very pleased to be tabling our protected areas report after many months of testimony and discussion. I want to thank all of those who took the time to inform the committee through testimony, briefs, and spending time during our trip. Those efforts have added significantly to the recommendations in the report.

I also want to thank all the members of the committee for working co-operatively together to produce a unanimous report. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

[Isabella Ferrara, March 22nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I also want to mention today that my thoughts are with those in London struggling with the tragedy unfolding there at the moment.

I rise today, though, to honour the life and community contributions of Isabella Ferrara, of Vaughan, who suddenly passed away on February 13. Isabella was a social activist and strong advocate for seniors' causes. She believed that an active social life could help provide important supports for many seniors. Her work, both as president of the Pine York Seniors' Club and as founder of SAVI, the Seniors Association of Vaughan Initiative, was instrumental in forging a vibrant, tightly knit, and healthy seniors community in Vaughan.

In recognition of her significant contribution, Isabella received awards across all levels of government: the Order of Vaughan, the Ontario Senior Achievement Award, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal.

Our thoughts are with Vince, her husband, who was always supportive of her activities, and her family. Isabella Ferrara is an example to us all of a life well lived. Grazie.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, March 20th, 2017]

With regards to funds, grants, loans, and loan guarantees the government has issued through its various departments and agencies in the constituency of King—Vaughn for the period of November 4, 2015, to January 30, 2017, inclusive, and in each case, where applicable: (a) what was the program under which the payment was made; (b) what were the names of the recipients; (c) what was the monetary value of the payment made; (d) what was the percentage of program funding covered by the payment received; and (e) on what date was the funding approved?

[Health, March 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are proud of our publicly funded health care system. It ensures that no Canadian has to make a choice between economic well-being and his or her health.

The Minister of Health has been meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts, reaching agreements with them on new investments on mental health and home care. As the minister has just announced, new deals have been reached with Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta. Could the minister elaborate on how this great news will benefit Canadians?

[Seniors, February 24th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak to Motion No. 106, a motion encouraging the government to develop a national seniors strategy, brought forward by my colleague from Nickel Belt. I want to thank him very much for his dedicated work on this issue.

The motion encourages the government to take specific actions to address seniors issues. As chair of the seniors Liberal caucus, I am delighted that this motion is coming forward and I want to give my full support.

Wherever we live, whatever our political inclination, we all grow old. At least we aspire to grow old with dignity and physical well-being. With aging an inevitable part of our common humanity, there surely can be few areas of government activity more able to positively impact Canadians.

Given the potential impact, we need to proceed with sound, strategic planning and with a whole of government approach. The motion asks the government to do four key things: to recognize that seniors make up a demographic that requires ongoing attention from the government; to confirm that the government is working to improve the lives of seniors; to ask the Standing Committee of Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, also known as HUMA, to study and report back to the House on the development of a National Seniors Strategy; and to broaden the mandate of the National Seniors Council.

Today I would like to express why the government is in support of the motion.

The Government of Canada recognizes that, like many countries around the world, Canada's population is aging. We know that the proportion of the senior population, age 65 and older, has been increasing steadily over the past 40 years. From 1971 to 2011, the proportion of seniors in Canada's population grew from 8% to 14%. I know members have heard all this before.

According to demographic projections, seniors could represent between 23% and 25% of the total population in 2036. In 2015, the number of seniors exceeded the number of children age 14 and younger for the first time ever. This shift is in part due to increasing an lifespan for Canadians, which is something that should be celebrated.

At the same time, we must be thoughtful in how we respond to the opportunities and policy challenges before us.

I want to assure members that our government values the contributions that older Canadians have made, and continue to make, to our communities, our workplaces, and our families.

Supporting Motion No. 106 is an opportunity to look at the challenges and opportunities faced by older Canadians and to recognize the rich diversity of seniors, for example, indigenous seniors, LGBTQ2 seniors, older immigrants and refugees, and seniors with disabilities. We are committed to the full social and economic inclusion of all Canadians. Our government looks forward to continuing to work together with other key stakeholders to support Canada's seniors of today and tomorrow.

Our government believes that older Canadians are and will continue to be among the drivers of our economy. The seniors of today are living longer, healthier lives than those of previous generations. Just think about the Canadian workforce.

Today many baby boomers choose to stay in the workforce even after the traditional retirement age of 65. Some stay for financial reasons, others because they want to remain active and engaged. According to a Statistics Canada survey of older workers, over half of the respondents who are currently working have indicated a plan to continue working on a part-time basis when they retire.

Not only is there room for seniors in the labour market, we require their skills, knowledge, and their contributions to ensure continued prosperity of our workforce and of our economy. Older workers can enable the successful transfer of an organization's knowledge, skills, and experience to future leaders and to areas that require specialized expertise. They also tend to remain with employers for longer periods. That means fewer costs for hiring and training new staff.

I am talking about older workers here to give an example of just one of the many contributions that older Canadians make to our society. After a working lifetime of contributing to Canada, Canada needs to ensure the needs of older Canadians are met with dignity and respect, and as an integral part of a social contract between all Canadians. Some will say developing an effective strategy to assist the elderly is about fairness. That is true, but the impetus for developing a national seniors strategy is more far-reaching. Canadians of all ages benefit when we respond to the needs of the elderly in a coherent, comprehensive, and effective manner.

Youth are likely to receive the guidance and insight of their grandparents for longer periods. Middle-aged adults may face less of a squeeze when juggling work, raising children, and helping their elderly parents. Those approaching retirement age can make sound decisions, knowing that assistance is available for their essential needs should they need it in the coming decades.

Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, this is who we are as a nation. We value all Canadians equally, whatever their situation, whatever their age, and we do so because it is fair and just. It seems that the essential needs of seniors are not fundamentally different from the rest of the population: accessible and supportive health services, affordable and suitable housing, financial security, and being treated with dignity and respect.

Of course, the situation seniors face, the intensity of their demands for some of these needs, and especially how seniors can best meet these needs differs from young people. At their core, however, they are essentially the same. However, as we experience population aging, the support our government provides and how we deliver it needs to evolve.

With an aging population, we know that there are challenges. The issues are complex in nature. They require collaboration across all of government and with non-governmental and private sector partners, researchers, practitioners, organizations representing seniors, and of course, seniors themselves. We must base our decisions on evidence and the lived experience of our seniors. We know that, and we understand that.

Our government is already responding to an aging population and demonstrating its commitment to seniors. We are making investments to enable seniors to live healthy, active, and independent lives. We increased the guaranteed income supplement top-up for single seniors. We are lifting Canadians out of poverty. We are helping seniors face challenges in accessing affordable housing. We restored the age of eligibility for the old age security pension and the guaranteed income supplement to age 65 from age 67. On top of that, we have enhanced the Canada pension plan for future seniors.

We are also providing additional targeted funding to support improved home care and mental health, which we know will improve outcomes and is the most cost-effective way to deliver much-needed services for seniors. We have also been working to provide more generous and flexible leave for caregivers, and we look forward to implementing further measures to ensure well-being and a good quality of life for seniors.

As we consider the opportunities and challenges associated with an aging population, our government looks forward to receiving advice and recommendations from the National Seniors Council and from the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Motion No. 106 will help us move forward with our work, and for that reason, we must support it.

In conclusion, I want to recognize the hard work of many of the members in the House on this important file. I will not call them out, but there are many people working and bringing forward recommendations across the spectrum that impact seniors' lives, and I really appreciate all of that hard work on both sides of the House.

Speaking of playing politics, which we heard in a previous declaration here today, this is a sad thing to be saying as we are talking about this motion. However, what I have been seeing is that repeatedly, we have had the official opposition bring forward motions that intend to usurp private members' motions that have already been tabled. To address the one that was mentioned in the speech, it was tabled, in this case, on December 6, 2016.

It is really not respectful behaviour, or efficient for the House, to be doing this kind of activity. If we know that there is a motion coming forward from one side, it really is not appropriate for the other side to try to jump in ahead with an opposition day motion. That is why this side of the House is trying to be respectful and considerate of the hard work individual members are doing through their private member's motions.

[High-Speed Internet, February 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the good news that more residents in my riding will have access to fibre optic broadband, thanks to a significant investment by the Government of Canada.

On January 23, I was thrilled to announce, on behalf of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, $825,000 in funding to expand the fibre optic broadband network in King Township. Access to better, more reliable broadband will provide residents with new opportunities to participate in the digital economy.

In partnership with communities, service providers, and other levels of government, we are working toward providing every family, farmer, senior, and student with access to a broadband service, increasing the potential for innovation and economic development.

Our government recognizes that investing in infrastructure is essential in order to give our municipalities the basics that they need.

[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to the previous two speakers and heard them identify the complexity of this issue and wanting to move quickly on it. I am hoping that they both spent time listening to the minister this morning, because she very clearly identified how complex it is and the work that she and the government have already been doing with her partners, the health ministers of the provinces and territories.

My question is this. Can I have the member's acknowledgement that she will move quickly with us and approve all stages of this bill so we can expedite what needs to be done? Also, I heard this from the previous speaker but did not have a chance to ask a question. Perhaps the member can answer it. Why would the member challenge the work we want to do with Statistics Canada when in her very speech she spoke about the need for data? Obviously, this is a complex issue, and we need data-guiding, yet her party is challenging that piece of our legislation. Could the member respond to that?

[Committees of the House, December 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff who help this House run so smoothly, and I want to thank the great staff we have in the committee for their excellent work this year. We have been working very hard, and they have done an excellent job, and I just want to call them out in the House today.

I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development in relation to C-18, an act to amend the Rouge National Urban Park Act, the Parks Canada Agency Act and the Canada National Parks Act. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House, without amendment.

Happy Hanukkah and happy holidays to all.

[Fisheries Act, December 6th, 2016]

Yes, please, if it is possible, I would appreciate that consent.