Mark Holland

[Government Accountability, October 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, while Conservatives continue to try to smear a Canadian who is recognized around the world for his work, I want to go back to their weird admiration of Alabama.

Do members know that Alabama has the third-lowest life expectancy in the United States? Do members know that the life expectancy in Alabama is a full decade lower than in Canada? Do members know that Alabama has some of the most restrictive rules around a woman's getting access to an abortion or contraceptives? Is that what the Conservatives admire about Alabama? Is that why they are talking about upping Alabama and are saying that it is better than Canada? I wonder why they are so interested in Alabama.

[The Economy, October 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, nobody is denying that there are challenges in every corner of the globe. Members can cherry-pick statistics here or there, but the question is this: What do we do as a country to meet the challenging moments we are in? The Conservatives' answer is to provide a slogan and no plan. I just invite people to pull back the curtain, as in The Wizard of Oz, and see what is back there. There is not a single thing. In contrast, we have a plan. Since I last spoke in the House, we have gained 50,000 people in dental care. That is 800,000 people getting care on something Conservatives will not even admit exists. This is about doing hard work and doing the right thing.

[The Economy, October 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is now the second member to admire Alabama and say that Alabama is doing better than Canada. I think Canada is the greatest nation on earth. I am really proud of this country and what we are doing. I am proud of our health care system.

When we take a look at the Conservatives filibustering a study of privatizing health care in committee right now, no wonder they have an admiration of the American model. They want to clear-cut our health care system. Talk about not acknowledging a problem. They have no solutions for the gaps we have in care. We do. We are delivering. We are going to keep doing it.

[Seniors, October 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for St. John's East for her tireless advocacy in championing the health of seniors in this country.

Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the 13 agreements signed in every jurisdiction in the country on aging with dignity, helping seniors to age at home and improving our long-term care facilities. Critically, those agreements include, for the first time, common indicators so we can see progress in data and see how provinces are doing. Obviously, there is work to ensure that hundreds of thousands of seniors get dental care, as well as what we are doing with pharmacare.

[Government Accountability, October 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is known everywhere in the world as being absolutely one of the best jurisdictions to manage blood supply, and that is something that we are absolutely committed to continuing. I think that casting aspersions and trying to manufacture things is something we are used to from the other side, but that reputation that we have won, hard-earned, to make sure that when Canadians need blood it is there for them and it is there for them safely, is something that we are going to continue, unabated, to be committed to.

[Health, September 26th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to subsection 3(1) of the Federal Framework on Autism Spectrum Disorder Act, I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, the framework for autism in Canada.

[Health, September 24th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, 750,000 have signed up so far. The path forward is clear. There are nine million Canadians who need to be served. There are nine million Canadians who did not have coverage. There are nine million people who the Conservatives do not believe deserve dental care. Well, we do, and we are not going to rest or stop until everyone is covered.

[Health, September 24th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the member will well know that the only party that is threatening dental care in this country is the Conservative Party of Canada, whose members refuse to answer a question. It is the only one I am aware of. When one refuses to answer a question, we can fill in the blanks, right? They want to cut it. First, they tried to say it did not exist, then they said that nobody would sign up for it—

[Health, September 24th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I know that, for the member opposite and for every member of this caucus, the universal public nature of our health care system is essential. It is critical to make sure that every Canadian everywhere has access to care based on need, not based on the size of their bank account. That is why the threat of Conservative cuts, the attacks they want to make on our health system, are so menacing. It is why the House must work collaboratively to ensure that we get it done. That is why the investment of $200 billion over the next 10 years in our health system is also critically important.

[Health, September 24th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I get frustrated, because there is an existential crisis facing our health system. It is represented in the person of the Conservative leader, whose cuts and approach to health care, to destroy pharmacare, to attack dental care and to undermine the deals that we have signed with provinces and territories, greatly menace this thing that we treasure, public health.

The investments that we made must continue. The progress we made must continue. That is why I urge parliamentarians to stand up against what the Conservatives would do to this health system, and work collaboratively to make sure we get the care that every Canadian deserves.