Helena Konanz
Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, British Columbia · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to table a petition brought forward by a passionate group of residents in my community who remain deeply concerned that our laws continue to fail to safeguard the victims of intimate partner violence.”
“Mr. Speaker, we need to hear from the chair of the health committee as to why he cancelled tomorrow's meeting. Hundreds of millions of health care dollars remain unaccounted for in the $300‑million PrescribeIT scandal. Why? It is because Liberal MPs keep turning off the cameras at the health committee.”
“These are the national figures, but I would like to take a moment to focus on how these national trends are causing real tension in communities like mine in Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay.”
“Promises to build quickly and build big to fortify the Canadian economy, through measures like the major projects act, a bill that I voted for, have not come to pass. Canada has neither designated nor started a single major economic project to fast-track a year after we passed that legislation.”
“The Liberal government has overseen the worst rise in food bank use in a generation, surpassing levels during the 2008 financial crisis and the height of COVID-19, and rural Canada is really suffering.”
“She showed that promises to reduce government spending are not reflected in rising personal costs, which will also increase by billions of dollars over the next several years. She showed that the government's revenue forecasts will fall short because of expected weaker wages and slower salary growth in a worsening economy.”
The complete record
Every one of 431 lines we hold for Helena Konanz, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 9.
“Mr. Speaker, for over 40 years, the Penticton Shooting Sports Association has operated a facility that includes multiple ranges on land leased from the federal government, but unless action is taken before December 31, it will be forced to close forever. For decades it has provided a family-friendly atmosphere for hunters and sport shooters in a safe and responsible environment. The range has also provided an essential local training resource for the RCMP and CBSA. National Police Federation president, Brian Sauvé, even said today at the public safety committee that the RCMP needs more training facilities like this one. MPs at the same committee unanimously passed a motion to support the extension of the club's lease, and over 10,000 Canadians have signed a petition.”
“Mr. Speaker, it just makes me so sad when we hear of another mill closing or another business closing. This has a domino effect. In these communities, when these mills close, when these businesses close or go down to one shift, for example, it leads to widespread issues throughout the community, with grocery stores closing and garages closing. It is just devastating communities, and we do not have anybody who is negotiating for us right now in the United States. We do not have anybody down there negotiating. We have someone talking to the President of the United States about an upcoming soccer tournament, which is extremely important, but, my goodness, we need to talk. There are people who are not going to be able to put food on their table for Christmas.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Penticton shooting range was going to lose its lease in the next couple of months, and I brought this to the safety committee. The committee unanimously agreed that the Penticton shooting range should not lose its lease. I have spoken to Minister MacDonald about this, and he will—”
“Mr. Speaker, that is a really good question. If she has visited my riding and the area where I live, that is wonderful. I wonder how she got there. If she flew into Kelowna, she would have had trouble getting down to the South Okanagan, to Similkameen, because of the roads and the landslides, fires and floods. Infrastructure has not been kept up by the government. We have had an infrastructure bank for the last 10 years. It is a system that has not worked. How are Canadians supposed to believe that throwing more money at it will somehow work after 10 years?”
“I know that the Prime Minister is currently in Washington, D.C., and I suggest that he speak more about the mills than about the FIFA World Cup with President Trump. The Prime Minister promised a $62-billion deficit, yet the deficit is $78 billion. He promised to spend less, yet this budget spends more. He promised to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio, yet it is increasing. He promised to increase investment, yet this budget shows that investment has actually declined. If the Liberal government does not intend to keep the promises it made to Canadians, then Canadians will ultimately hold it to account.”
“Last, given the importance of the forest industry, especially at mills in Castlegar, Princeton and Grand Forks, I wish to address the government's promised fund for our mills as they come under attack from the unjustified U.S. tariffs. All members of the House want to protect our lumber jobs, but we will only protect them in the long term with a softwood lumber agreement with Washington, D.C., not through the extension of government loans. Many of the mills already carry enormous debt. Adding to that burden puts their long-term viability at risk. I do not pretend that a softwood agreement will be easy to obtain, but as members of the lumber industry said in October, the Prime Minister cannot be silent on this industry.”
“Not only did the health minister ignore my request to her directly in our committee to end the decriminalization experiment, a pilot project, that is operating only in British Columbia, but in the budget, the Liberal government also continues to push access to dangerous drug paraphernalia. Recently obtained information from the member for Riding Mountain confirms that the government's own emergency treatment fund is being used to purchase smoking kits. In other words, these are taxpayer-funded crack pipes. The budget does not put forward meaningful measures that we so need to tackle the addiction crisis, which leaves the streets of my communities unsafe; creates dangerous tent cities that were not there just 10 years ago, five years ago or two years ago; and takes many lives and leaves families suffering.”
“For example, the communities of Olalla, Osoyoos, Hedley, Vintage Views, Heritage Hills, Warfield, Okanagan Falls and Sage Mesa have been failed by a provincial government that did not exercise its proper oversight role, and by a federal government that has been slow to ensure that all Canadians have access to clean drinking water. It is a right. The Liberals should be looking at how they can mobilize their resources to ensure the reliability of roads, power grids and water sources, but I do not see that prioritized in the budget. Similarly, the government's efforts to combat the deadly drug crisis in my home province prioritize continued addiction instead of a road to recovery.”
“(1300) A fully functional north-south connection for the Okanagan Valley would boost economic productivity and community safety, but the Liberals choose to continue pouring public funding into the same failed Trudeau infrastructure policies that do not get things built. This is also true of the Liberals' continued failure on clean drinking water. The Liberals promised to end boil water advisories for indigenous first nations by 2019. Not only has this promise not been kept, with dozens remaining, but even more communities across Canada have brought in boil water advisories since that promise. Look at my riding, for example. Many residents in my communities live under boil water advisories due to aging water infrastructure. It has come to a crisis level.”
“Together, we called on the federal government to assist with the cleanup of the landslide on Highway 97, the extremely important and only highway to Kelowna from the South Okanagan. This highway was invested in under the Harper government. The plan that the member and I had was to allow the provincial government to allocate maintenance funds to upgrade 201 Forest Service Road. This would ensure a reliable year-round alternative when Highway 97 is closed, whether by fire, landslide, flood or accident. It is an extremely important artery. In other words, people in Okanagan-Similkameen could make it safely and in a timely way to the hospital in Kelowna, which they are dependent upon.”
“What is this budget doing for residents in my communities? Economists will always say that infrastructure investments are a good way to improve an economy, but this budget fails to make the investments needed in this area. The budget would give the failed infrastructure bank an additional $10 billion, bringing the total to $45 billion of taxpayer dollars. After almost a decade of spending billions in taxpayers' money to attract private investment, the Liberals' infrastructure bank has only completed seven projects, less than one per year, out of the more than 100 it has funded. Meanwhile, good ideas, like the one the member for Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna and I had, are brought forward to the Liberal government and ignored.”
“As deficits run higher and higher, so too do the costs to borrow and the interest payments that the Liberal government is forced to pay on our national debt. Public debt charges for this year amount to $53.4 billion in taxpayer dollars going to debt holders, not health care, not roads, not defence and not support for industries hit by tariffs. There is nothing that benefits Canadians. In fact, the $53.4 billion spent on public debt charges is nearly identical to the amount the federal government spends on health care through Canada health transfers and the amount it collects in GST revenue. However, by the end of the decade, it will surpass all health care and defence costs as a burden on taxpayers, growing to $76.1 billion. Canadians do not want to pay taxes to pay off government debt.”
“That is the average cost of a small to mid-sized private yacht every 10 minutes, but the Liberals have good news for those looking to buy a yacht because this budget has cut the tax on luxury boats. For my constituents, meanwhile, there is little relief offered as they see their grocery bills at Safeway only grow. Too often, our national debt and budget deficit are framed by the Liberals as purely irrelevant economics to Canada's priorities, but nothing could be further from the truth. There is a reason that one year ago, the previous finance minister under Justin Trudeau resigned when she was asked to run a deficit of more than $43 billion. It is now almost twice that. Setting aside the global pandemic, this is now the highest deficit on record, but in this budget, we will find an even more concerning number.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill C-15 , the budget implementation act. Sadly, this is not the right budget for Canada. It spends too much in the wrong areas, taxes families that are struggling to get by and, ultimately, leaves an enormous debt to our generation and, most likely, the next. Ultimately, that is why I voted against the Liberals' budget. It was not because I opposed every line in a budget that spans hundreds of pages and thousands of programs, but because it prioritized a heavy tax-and-spend agenda today for historic levels of debt tomorrow. How much debt would it be? There would be $1.28 trillion, with $109 million added every single day. It is hard to even conceptualize. In fact, in the time it takes to complete this 10-minute speech in the House today, the national debt would increase by more than $7 million.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize one of Canada's brightest young athletes, Victoria Mboko. At just 19 years old, she has won major tennis tournaments, winning two WTA singles titles, including the Canadian Open. She achieved a singles ranking of number 18 in the world on November 3. Earlier, she posted a stretch of 22 straight match wins without dropping a set on the ITF circuit, and she represented Canada in the Billie Jean King Cup. This is all with the support of Tennis Canada's elite training program. As a former professional tennis player and coach, I know that these wins have come at a tremendous amount of sacrifice, grit and determination. Let us celebrate Vicky Mboko for all that she has achieved. She is a shining example and a hero to a generation of young Canadians. We are so proud of Vicky.”
“Madam Speaker, my colleague's speech was really interesting. I just want him to say again quickly why this particular bill is not the right bill to actually get things done, seeing as how there has been so much more bureaucracy already added in the Liberal government. Why would the bill not work?”
“Madam Speaker, let us be clear on what was signed yesterday. It was a memorandum that will hike the industrial carbon tax and, in exchange, the Liberals will allow a pipeline proposal to be further studied for the next two years. There are no timelines for approval, and many Liberals are demanding that the timelines be never. The Liberal caucus is divided. Will the Prime Minister ignore them, forget the tax hikes and just approve a pipeline today, or is this pipeline a pipe dream?”
“Madam Speaker, Liberal MPs in B.C. are telling the media that they are “seething,” “anxious” and “angry” about a pipeline that would end Canada's economic dependence on the United States. The Liberal caucus is falling apart over this. The Prime Minister must not give his “keep it in the ground” caucus or Premier Eby a veto. Only he has the constitutional and legislative power to approve a pipeline today. Will he ignore the naysayers and approve it today, or will he offer more delay?”
“Madam Speaker, my colleague is definitely an expert in this field. I want to tell her that I actually want work to happen. I want this to move forward. As she knows, the more bureaucracy and the more money that is thrown into a repetitive process, the less real work is going to be done. We need these treaties to actually happen. When there are no treaties, there are only delays and broken promises. It breeds contempt—”
“Madam Speaker, we do not need more bureaucracy, as the member mentioned. Relationships with first nations are extremely important, but when we set up more bureaucracy, it only makes things worse. There is more finger pointing and confusion. It sets communities against communities, and it sets us all up for bad faith and friction. We need to help the relationships and work on the relationships between our communities, so that real progress can be made and real treaties can be made. In other words, we need to do the work.”
“Madam Speaker, what is important about the bill is that it is not going to end with any results. It is a repeat of the bureaucratic layers that we already have. The Auditor General is already doing exactly what the Liberals plan to spend $4 million on. We need to start actually doing the work. Our relationship with these communities, throughout Canada and B.C., is extremely important. We cannot waste time on bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo.”
“We will continue to push for the meaningful implementation of modern treaties. We will continue to insist that reconciliation requires action, not new offices in Ottawa.”
“Conservatives believe reconciliation must be practical and grounded in partnership, not in Ottawa-centric bureaucracy. We respect treaty rights. We respect the work, time and investment indigenous communities put into these agreements, and we believe that honouring that work requires implementation, not layers of duplication. Let us be clear. If Bill C-10 passes, nothing will change. In four or five years, the Auditor General will still be issuing the same warnings, departments will still be missing deadlines, treaty partners will still be waiting and Canadians will still be asking where the money went. Oversight is not the issue; leadership is the issue. That is why Conservatives cannot support Bill C-10. We will continue to advocate for transparent accountability.”
“Out of respect for our first nation partners, our neighbours, departments need to implement the agreements that have already been signed. Ministers need to enforce obligations already written in law. Commitments that have been sitting untouched for years need to be acted upon, not observed from afar by a new commissioner. Reconciliation is not achieved by expanding Ottawa's payroll. It is achieved when commitments are honoured. Treaty partners have been patient. Some have been waiting for implementation milestones for decades. They deserve measurable progress, clear timelines and accountability, not more reports confirming what they already know, which is that the federal government has failed to meet its responsibilities.”
“Meanwhile, under former prime minister Stephen Harper, Canada saw real results. Nine communities reached a final modern treaty agreement in six years. These were not symbolic gestures. They were fully negotiated agreements that required hard decisions, interdepartmental coordination and political will. Conservatives got things done, and the Liberals have not. This context matters. A government that has failed to negotiate treaties and has failed to implement existing obligations now wants Parliament to believe that creating another office would miraculously fix the failures it has spent a decade ignoring. The claim is not credible. The Liberals argue that a commissioner would provide direction, but modern treaties do not need more direction; they need delivery.”
“These issues are serious, not just in the province of B.C., where, in some places, they are exploding, but throughout Canada. Again, I ask what the office is supposed to do. The answer is nothing meaningful. The problem is not a lack of oversight; the problem is a lack of action. The government has a long history of substituting announcements, offices and photo ops for actual implementation. When faced with a problem, the Liberal instinct is always the same, to create a new bureaucracy and hope that symbolism distracts from inaction. Let us look at the record. Since 2015, despite promising a renewed nation-to-nation relationship, and despite promising to respect modern treaty partners, the government has negotiated zero new modern treaties. There has not been one in 10 years. There has been zero progress.”
“Even the legislation seems a little embarrassed by it. It states that the commissioner must “coordinate their activities” to prevent overlap. When a bill has to explicitly warn itself to not duplicate functions, it is clearly duplicating. That alone should tell the House everything it needs to know, but it gets worse. (1020) The bill notes that the commissioner would not be a dispute resolution body. The commissioner would not be a performance auditor. The commissioner would get to decide their own priorities, including the number and frequency of reviews they would like to produce. In other words, the office cannot solve failures, cannot enforce compliance and cannot even be compelled to work at the pace required to match the seriousness of the issues that are at hand.”
“This is bureaucracy posing as progress, and Canadians are expected to cover the tab. Yes, indigenous partners have expressed support for this bill because they want stronger oversight. They want something to actually be done, but accountability comes from implementation, not from another layer of review. Communities are calling for results, safer housing, reliable water and treaty commitments to be fulfilled. The only thing that will deliver that to them is a government that is willing to act on the oversight already in place, and the government has not done that. To illustrate how redundant this office is, I will point out that the bill contains an entire section explaining that the commissioner must avoid duplication of work with the Auditor General and other oversight bodies that already exist.”
“The oversight already exists. The findings exist. The recommendations exist. What does not exist is the government's willingness to act. One has to ask, where has accountability been? Who has faced the consequences for failing to uphold these treaties? I have yet to hear a single minister held responsible for years of missed deadlines and ignored commitments. Instead of fixing the problems that have been highlighted by the Auditor General, the Liberals want to create a new office to highlight the same promises over and over again. This new commissioner comes with a price tag. It is not free. It comes with a price tag of $10.6 million over four years, money that could instead be used to actually implement treaty obligations, support indigenous governments' capacity or accelerate negotiations that have been solved for years.”
“This is not a matter of opinion; it is a matter of record, and that record has been documented clearly, repeatedly and exhaustively by the Auditor General of Canada. This brings me to the central flaw of the bill. Bill C-10 creates the position of a commissioner for modern treaty implementation, an office that would review, monitor, assess, evaluate and report on federal performance. Those are the words we have all seen before because they describe the existing mandate of the Auditor General. For nearly 20 years, the Auditor General has published report after report identifying federal failures in implementing modern treaties. These reports all say the same thing: There are chronic delays, unfulfilled commitments, inadequate coordination between departments and no meaningful consequences when obligations are ignored.”
“These agreements matter, and they deserve to be implemented. Bill C-10 does not advance that goal. In fact, it does the opposite. Since the 1970s, Canada has sought to move beyond numbered treaties and develop modern, comprehensive agreements that are grounded in partnership. Today, more than two dozen modern treaties are enforced across the country, from Nunavut to Yukon, Quebec and British Columbia, where I represent my riding. These agreements form a critical foundation for reconciliation, economic development and indigenous self-government. They are supposed to be binding and enforceable, and they are supposed to hold the federal government accountable, but the government has consistently failed to meet its obligations under those agreements.”
“Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak strongly against Bill C-10 , the proposed modern treaty implementation act. Although the government frames this legislation as a step towards reconciliation and improved accountability, it is neither. Instead, it expands bureaucracy, repeats mechanisms that are already in place and diverts energy away from the real work in reaching agreements with the nations. Conservatives believe in the importance of Canada's relationship with indigenous peoples. We believe deeply in honouring the treaties this country has signed, both historic and modern. Modern treaties represent decades of the negotiation, collaboration and sacrifice of first nations, Inuit and Métis partners. They define land rights. They established jurisdiction, and they provide a clear path towards local decision-making and economic certainty.”
“Mr. Chair, it is a very difficult question. What I would like to know right now is who in the government is in the United States tonight negotiating for the people who cannot put food on their table, are waiting in lines at the food bank and do not want a handout. They want their jobs. Who is there right now? Who is there tonight? Who will be there tomorrow? I want every single Liberal sitting here tonight to go there as a group, with representatives from all parties, and get a deal for the people of Canada.”
“Mr. Chair, I have travelled through B.C. to many pulp mills and sawmills and have spoken to owners and CEOs about the situation they are in. They told me that they do not need a bailout in the form of more loans. They do not need further debt. They have been getting deeper and deeper into debt for the past decade because of the inactions of the government in helping this sector. They would like to see negotiations. They want to put people to work. They do not want one shift; they want three shifts going 24 hours a day, as they have had in the past.”
“Mr. Chair, it is difficult to talk about any type of concession or deal when the government is not even in negotiations with the Americans. How many times have I heard that the Liberals have gone across the border, which is very few and not enough, to talk with the Americans and Trump but not even mention softwood lumber? These people are in a desperate situation. They do not deserve to be ignored. Our towns are in a desperate situation as well.”
“The current situation demands urgent action, not a Prime Minister who says, “Who cares?” If we fail to act now, more communities will face the same devastation; more families will be forced to leave towns they love, and more businesses will close their doors. We do not need ghost towns. I stand here today because people affected by this crisis deserve to have their voices heard in this chamber. They deserve leadership and meaningful solutions. We owe them nothing less.”
“They told me they were agonizing over whether to uproot their family and their children once again, this time heading north in a desperate hope of finding new employment, or staying to see if the tariffs may be lifted and the jobs might come back again. These losses extend far beyond mill workers and contractors. When a mill shuts down, it affects the entire local economy. The grocery store feels it, as do the hardware store, the restaurants, the cafes, the gas stations and volunteer organizations. Schools lose families. A mill closure is not just a business shutting down; it is a slow hollowing out of an entire town. Our forestry communities need a federal government that will stand up for them and champion the value of Canadian wood products. The people I met are not asking for handouts; they want their jobs back. They want to work.”
“Two mills in my riding have closed completely in the past decade, but others have and are scaling back tremendously as we speak. In Grand Forks, which had a recent mill shut down and then another just in the last couple of weeks go to one shift, it has left families scrambling. I met a young couple who had moved to the town just a few years ago. They bought a home, put down roots and felt hopeful about a fresh start in a community they were proud to join. The husband got laid off with the recent closure, and now they are facing the harsh reality that without work they might not be able to pay their mortgage and keep their home.”
“and Canada have barely mentioned softwood lumber. Forestry is a backbone for so many rural communities. I have been touring my riding, from Princeton to Grand Forks to Castlegar. Our forestry businesses are suffering, and our people are suffering. In many small towns, the local mill can be the largest employer, and generations of families have relied on these well-paying stable jobs to build a future, raise their children and contribute to the local economy. When a mill shuts down or scales back its operations, the impact ripples through every corner of the community. It is hard for those who live in an urban area to understand that retraining is not an option for most when a mill shuts down and jobs are lost in a rural town. What is the only option for many is leaving that town.”
“Mr. Chair, I am sharing my time with my colleague for Miramichi—Grand Lake . I rise today to address an issue of profound urgency, an issue that strikes at the heart of countless communities across B.C., our nation and my riding: the crisis facing Canada's forestry sector. For more than a decade, this vital industry has been neglected by the government. Now, we find our ourselves on the brink of disaster. The recent decision by the United States to impose a 45% tariff on our softwood lumber exports is a direct threat to the livelihoods and stability of small towns that have relied on forestry for generations. It is important for every member of the House to fully grasp the consequences of this crisis. We cannot sit by and do nothing. Many of the negotiations that have occurred concerning tariffs between the U.S.”
“Mr. Speaker, I recall that a year ago, there was chaos in this House when it was announced that there would be a $40-billion deficit in an upcoming budget, and now the Liberals plan on doubling that. Does this concern the member of the Liberals?”
“However, seniors, especially, and the most vulnerable Canadians cannot afford higher food costs. They do not want to wait in food lines anymore.”
“Mr. Speaker, what I do not understand is this. I appreciate the answer from the member across the way, but what I do not appreciate is the fact that if it costs me more as a farmer to do business, if it costs me more for steel and aluminum, why would I not raise my prices to cover those costs? That is the basis of running a business. One has to cover one's costs. If the cost of groceries is under global pressure, why have prices for groceries gone up so much more in Canada than in the United States? What I did not hear were solutions on how we are going to lower the cost of groceries. The people who live in the Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay appreciate, and I think it is great, that the member has been there and knows how beautiful it is and how hard the people work.”
“It is wrong when a Washington state apple is more expensive in a grocery store than the Okanagan apple sitting right next to it that is grown down the street. We all want to support Canadian jobs and businesses, so will the government commit to ending the industrial carbon tax on Canadian steel and aluminum to help bring down the price of food and the products we use every day?”
“Just because the tax does not appear as a line item on a Safeway receipt, that does not mean it is not there. The government's taxes on sectors like steel and aluminum affect every person buying a can of soup. I will remind the Liberals that they have also raised the cost of food packaging with the P2 plastics ban, but that is not the subject of tonight's debate. At a time of an illegal and unjustified U.S. trade war, when the Liberals promised to protect Canadian steel and aluminum producers, the Liberals are taxing them through the industrial carbon tax. The industrial carbon tax undermines the competitiveness of farms like the ones in the Okanagan Valley. Farmers in my riding compete with Washington state apple growers, who do not pay these additional taxes.”
“I know the member opposite will say there is no carbon tax on the food we pay for at the grocery store, but a tax on the supply chain, additional costly regulations and more red tape increase prices at every step, and at the end of the line, they increase the weekly grocery bill of families everywhere. It is simple economics. When government changes regulations and adds costs, citizens where I live call that a tax. The industrial carbon tax is a tax on Canadian farms. How is it a tax on Canadian farms? It is a tax on the steel in farm equipment, in the storage bins and in tools. It is a tax on every grain dryer. It is a tax on every greenhouse heater on a farm. It is a tax on every bag of fertilizer. It is a tax on every aluminum can. It is a tax on every truck that hauls the food from the farm to the stores.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin with the words of one of my constituents. His name is David, and he is from Oliver, British Columbia. He says that pensioners on a low income are struggling with prices rising, especially food, which increases continually each month. There is only one increase a year for pensioners. David is right. Food costs are unaffordable and getting worse month after month. That is why I stand here tonight to request an explanation from the Liberal government about why it continues to hike the industrial carbon tax at a time when the cost of groceries for Canadians is only rising.”
“We may never know how many future transplants start because someone attended a medal ceremony or heard the story of a donor in their own community. If this honour encourages even a few more Canadians to consider giving the gift of life, the impact will be immeasurable. For all these reasons, I strongly urge all members of this House to support Bill C-234 . Let us stand together to recognize the Canadians whose generosity saves lives, strengthens families and gives hope to the thousands waiting for a second chance.”
“Before concluding, I want to acknowledge the sponsor of this bill, the member for Edmonton Manning . His advocacy for this legislation is shaped by a deeply personal experience. He himself is a living donor, donating to his young son and giving him not only an organ but a future. His courage and the courage of so many living donors across the country are a powerful reminder of what this legislation seeks to honour. Bill C-234 sends the simple yet profound message that living organ donors deserve national recognition for the life-saving act they provide. This medal would not create donors on its own, but it would shine a light on Canadians who choose to step forward. It would help normalize living donation, encourage conversation, inspire others and celebrate extraordinary generosity.”
“It was nice to hear the support of my colleague from the Bloc Québécois. It was great to hear that Quebec has such a long and proud history of leadership in organ donation. I have heard stories of organ donors in Quebec, of donors who stepped forward for strangers, neighbours and loved ones, people who also deserve to be recognized nationally. I am often asked by constituents why political parties cannot work together more often. I always say we can. The public may not always see it, but co-operation does happen. This bill is a perfect example of how members from every corner of this House can come together when we focus on what is most important: the lives and well-being of Canadians. As a new member, this makes me proud to be in this House and to be in this country.”