Laila Goodridge
Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, Alberta · Conservative · Canada
“Madam Speaker, we are seeing here a heavy-handed Liberal government that has decided that, because it is unable to manage the time of the House and because it is unable to bring forward legislation in a timely manner, it is going to use the hammer to curtail debate.”
“They measure success by whether they can afford a home. They measure success by whether their children have opportunities. They measure success by whether their communities can grow and prosper. For too many Canadians, the answer today is no. The consequences of inaction are profound. Canadians are tired of excuses.”
“The answer, I think, was nine, which is not speeds that had never before been seen. The Liberals promised to build 500,000 homes annually, yet according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation projections, housing starts could actually fall to approximately 212,000 units by 2028. That is not just a small shortfall.”
“That is not a space where Canadians want to be, but this is where we are careening down, because of the Liberals' mismanagement of the economy for the last decade. The decisions the Liberals make, and the decisions we make here in Parliament, have real-life impact on the lives of Canadians.”
“However, never was this more true than in the last decade when we had the Liberal government in place, which told people in my community that it would transition their jobs away, and that they should not actually be in that kind of industry.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, with whom I have the honour of serving on the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, as well as on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. The facts are crystal clear.”
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“Does the minister not believe that Canadians deserve to have actual conversations and debate on bills in this chamber, specifically when we are spending billions of dollars for Canadians, yes or no?”
“Madam Speaker, we are seeing here a heavy-handed Liberal government that has decided that, because it is unable to manage the time of the House and because it is unable to bring forward legislation in a timely manner, it is going to use the hammer to curtail debate. We have seen an hour of debate on this particular bill in the chamber, and the Liberals' answer is to speed this through so we cannot have an adequate debate on the bill. They are trying to use every excuse in the book, but the reality is that, when we started sitting, we had effectively no bills for a very long period of time, and that is on the Liberals. They cannot get bills out for us to have time to debate them. It is not on the opposition for holding them accountable and saying that we deserve to have debate. This is a lot of money being spent.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my spectacular colleague from the South Okanagan area for her tremendous work. She rightly points out the fact that the bureaucracies that currently exist, keyed by the Government of Canada, are too far away to be able to understand some of the needs of communities. This is one of the big problems that we face, but the answer from the Liberals is, “Let us build more bureaucracy. Let us not build more houses. Let us not do anything—”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, with whom I have the honour of serving on the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, as well as on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. The facts are crystal clear. We heard from so many witnesses during the committee's study of Bill C‑20. The witnesses said that there was a lot of uncertainty and that they were not getting answers about the point of all this or why it could not be done by existing agencies. Ottawa decided to create another structure, to add more bureaucracy. It is not going to work. The fact is that we need to work more closely with the provinces, the territories and indigenous governments across the country because what Ottawa is doing is not working.”
“Mr. Speaker, I know the member opposite can get all huffy and puffy, and have all the passion in the world for this, but it does not change the result that over 80% of Canadians want to own a home. They want to own their own house. The government has created yet another housing bureaucracy, so we are now up to four housing bureaucracies at the federal level in Canada. The government's own Parliamentary Budget Officer has even said that Build Canada Homes will add just 5,000 homes per year, which is 1% of what the Liberals promised. I do not think that meets the expectation of Canadians. I wonder if he does.”
“They measure success by whether they can afford a home. They measure success by whether their children have opportunities. They measure success by whether their communities can grow and prosper. For too many Canadians, the answer today is no. The consequences of inaction are profound. Canadians are tired of excuses. They are tired of missed targets. They are tired of announcements that never materialize into results. They want action. They want homes. They want affordability. They want governments that remove obstacles instead of creating them. As the member of Parliament for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, I will continue fighting for the workers, the families, the tradespeople and the young Canadians who simply want a fair chance to succeed, to save, to buy a home, to build a future and to pass on something to their children.”
“That is why Conservatives believe that the federal government can assist home builders across the country by cutting the GST on all new homes under $1.3 million, saving families up to $65,000; unleash building by tying federal infrastructure dollars to homebuilding; have municipalities permit at least 15% more homebuilding each year; cut development charges by 50%, which the Liberals promised during the last election campaign but refused to deliver; end the capital gains on reinvestment in new housing in Canada; and unlock billions of dollars of investment in the country's homebuilding sector. Most importantly, we believe the government should focus on the outcomes instead of announcements. I know that is shocking, but Canadians do not measure success by the number of government programs that exist.”
“The solution is not having Ottawa involved. The solution is not having Ottawa attempting to become a developer. The solution is creating conditions that allow builders to build. The CEO of the Ontario Home Builders' Association summed it up perfectly when he testified at our committee. He said, “the path forward is not for government to step into the role of the builder but for it to enable those who already do this work every day to do it better, faster and at greater scale.” The Conservative Party of Canada completely agrees and we believe that all Canadians should have the opportunity to own their own home and have access to safe and affordable housing.”
“The answer, I think, was nine, which is not speeds that had never before been seen. The Liberals promised to build 500,000 homes annually, yet according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation projections, housing starts could actually fall to approximately 212,000 units by 2028. That is not just a small shortfall. That is a huge failure of historic proportions. Even more concerning is the Parliamentary Budget Officer found that Build Canada Homes would contribute only about 5,000 homes annually. That is only 1% of the government's own annual housing target. Canadians deserve better than announcements that generate headlines but fail to deliver results. The reality is builders have consistently told government what is needed. The solution is not more bureaucracy. The solution is not more government agencies.”
“The reality is we have yet to be able to understand, on the human resources, skills and social development committee, what powers of the Build Canada Homes could not be accessed through either the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or the Canada Lands Company, which are two existing bureaucracies. Instead, the Liberals want to put a new shiny bow on things, build something new and say they are going to build at unimaginable speeds, yet the reality is we are seeing construction grind to a halt. Most of the people who came before our committee when we studied this bill did not really understand what Build Canada Homes was going to do. They had some general ideas, but nothing concrete. When we had the CEO come to committee, we heard how many homes the corporation had built.”
“We need millions of new homes across the country. We have skilled trades workers ready to build them, yet government policies are slowing down construction and preventing projects from even getting off the ground. Every housing project that is cancelled, delayed or deemed too expensive to proceed means fewer houses for workers to work on, fewer apprentices getting trained, fewer opportunities for young people entering the trades and fewer paycheques for hard-working Canadians. This is the reality that the Liberal government fails to understand. What is the Liberals' solution? Their solution is yet another housing bureaucracy. What we are seeing with Build Canada Homes is a fourth Canadian housing bureaucracy because their solution to so much is just to build more government bureaucracy.”
“That is not a space where Canadians want to be, but this is where we are careening down, because of the Liberals' mismanagement of the economy for the last decade. The decisions the Liberals make, and the decisions we make here in Parliament, have real-life impact on the lives of Canadians. This is not just a crisis for families who are looking to buy homes. It is a crisis for workers who build homes: electricians, carpenters, plumbers and welders. It has an impact on all kinds of construction workers. When projects are delayed by government red tape or permits take years instead of months, investment goes away. This is one of those problems, because when the investment goes away, the jobs disappear. (1920) We need to think about that for a moment. Canada has a severe housing crisis and a severe housing shortage.”
“However, never was this more true than in the last decade when we had the Liberal government in place, which told people in my community that it would transition their jobs away, and that they should not actually be in that kind of industry. What we saw, effectively for the last 10 years, were housing starts dropping to nearly zero, which means that, right now, we do not have the builders ready to build, because most of the builders have left town. Most of the construction workers have left town, because there were no jobs to be had as people were not buying houses. What we saw, and what we are continuing to see, are people upside down on their mortgage, which means they owe more than they have paid. If they want to sell their house, their choice is either to pay a whole bunch of money or go bankrupt.”
“They represent families draining their savings, simply trying to keep up. They represent seniors worried about their financial security. They represent young couples wondering when they will ever be able to save enough money for that down payment. They represent Canadians who have refinanced mortgages, maxed-out lines of credit and taken on additional debt simply to afford rent, groceries and other necessities. Canada is facing a housing crisis, not a housing challenge, not a housing issue, but a housing crisis, and it is a crisis that has been years in the making. I have seen the aftermath of this crisis in my hometown of Fort McMurray, where we have had booms and busts for as long as people have known that the oil sands existed.”
“According to the office of the superintendent of bankruptcy, the number of Canadians seeking relief under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act during the first quarter of 2026 reached levels not seen since the aftermath of the Great Depression. Consumer insolvencies increased by 8.5% compared to the same period last year, and mortgage delinquencies have reached their highest levels since 2021. Canadians are carrying an astonishing $2.6 trillion in household debt, and the average Canadian now owes $1.77 for every dollar earned, yet the burden is heavier for lower- and middle-income earners. Testimony before the finance committee revealed that, for the bottom 80% of earners, debt-to-income ratios exceed 200%. For the bottom 20%, they approach 430%. These numbers are more than just statistics.”
“The cost of groceries has soared, utility bills continue to climb, families are paying more at the gas pump, more at the checkout counter and more for virtually everything, every necessity of life, yet nowhere is this failure more evident than in the housing sector. Home ownership is increasingly becoming an unachievable goal for hard-working Canadians. Young people who did everything right are losing hope. They pursued an education, entered the workforce, saved diligently and delayed major life decisions, only to discover that the dream of owning a home continues to move further and further away. The statistics paint a sobering picture.”
“Mr. Speaker, owning a home was once at the heart of the Canadian dream. For generations, Canadians believed that if they worked hard, played by the rules, paid their taxes and contributed to their communities, they would have the opportunity to buy a home, raise a family and build a secure future. That was not an unreasonable expectation. It was part of the promise of this country. Today, however, that promise is further out of reach than it has ever felt before. After more than a decade of Liberal government, Canadians are facing a cost of living crisis unlike anything we have seen in generations.”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague and good friend has a strong knowledge in this space. I was wondering if she could explain why continuing to build bureaucracy does not actually build homes, and what she sees in her home province of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
“Mr. Speaker, this is something the government decided to create to build more bureaucracy rather than build homes, so my question for the member opposite is really simple: How many houses has Build Canada Homes built in her riding since it was created?”
“They deserve a government that grows the economy instead of growing the debt. It is time to end the reckless spending, restore fiscal responsibility and get Canada back on track.”
“Mr. Speaker, Canada is falling behind. Under the Liberal Prime Minister , Canada stands alone as the only G20 country in a recession. Families feel it every day. Paycheques do not stretch as far, bills keep piling up, and home ownership is slipping out of reach. Canadians are left asking a simple question: How did we get here? The answer is a decade of Liberal economic failure. The Liberals said this spring that they would borrow $65 billion, yet the independent budget watchdog says the real number is $72 billion. That is $7 billion more on debt, $7 billion more to be paid by our children and grandchildren. The Liberals keep spending like there is no tomorrow, while Canadians are left paying the price today with higher debt, higher costs and less opportunity. Canadians deserve better than excuses.”
“We are here to work, and we expect that, so why is the minister so keen to get out of here, get to somewhere else and go on his vacation rather than stay here and work for Canadians?”
“Madam Speaker, it is shameful that the government has decided it is going to use a hammer to restrict our ability to continue debating this important bill. The minister has stated that he wishes there were more, such as a parliamentary study on the idea of elder abuse and coercive control. All he would have to do is read through some of the testimony we have been hearing at FEWO for the last couple months, and there is ample. We have had witness after witness make it very clear that this needs to be put in. We have had tons of stakeholders bring this forward as a massive issue, yet the Liberals say that it is not important and that they are not dealing with that right now. Also, they are limiting any ability to have any further debate on this issue because they want to go home for vacation.”
“Mr. Speaker, the truth is that the Prime Minister continues to spend lavishly while Canadians struggle to put food on the table. After more than a decade of Liberal inflationary spending, Canadians are being stuck with the bill while government racks up debt and pays for luxury perks. Food Banks Canada's newest poverty report card warns that too many Canadians have incomes not meeting the cost of living and having a job is no longer a reliable path to stability. Let that sink in. Working Canadians now make up one in five food bank clients. The Prime Minister says this recession is a result of global economic crisis and tariff problems. If that is true, why is there no other country in G7—”
“Mr. Speaker, Canada is the only country in the G7 in a recession. After two straight quarters of economic decline, the consequences are everywhere. One in four Canadians is food-insecure. Millions of people are struggling to put food on the table. Canadians are cutting back and lining up at food banks, yet reports of the Prime Minister 's lavish catering and elite events continue to pile up. The Prime Minister spent more money on airplane food for three flights than the average family would spend on food for an entire decade. How can the Prime Minister justify spending so lavishly while Canadian families are struggling to afford the basics?”
“If people want to get started on that hard and long path toward recovery, it starts one step at a time, to do the next right thing, and this is the next right thing. I would encourage every single member in this chamber to put aside partisanship, to realize that this, what we are talking about right now, can make a huge difference in the lives of so many Canadians. I would urge every single member to unreservedly support the member for Kitchener Centre 's private member's bill, Bill C-240 , and make a very clear statement that recovery is possible.”
“Right now, if someone is seeking out treatment in incarceration in Canada, the steps they have to go through in most provinces are quite hard. Most people cannot even get into an NA or AA meeting if they are in jail. That is a failure of our system. It costs effectively nothing, yet in so many jurisdictions, it is hard to even get that for people who are struggling with addiction. This bill would take the huge step of not just telling people that addiction is a health condition and needs to be treated as such but clearly stating that we have hope, that we believe they can get better and that we know recovery is possible. That is the single most inspiring piece we can do. This is the most important piece.”
“Here is the piece: When people are in jail, and the root cause of some of their criminality is addiction, we really owe it to ourselves to make sure we are treating that root cause of the addiction. For every single person I have met who is now in recovery from addiction, the single hardest thing they have had to do in their life is getting sober and staying sober, confronting the demons of some of the actions and activities they did that were not in line with their values and confronting some of the really tough things they did when they were trying to just survive and get by. We should be offering tools while people are incarcerated so they can get better, and not just offering those tools but allowing that to be in consideration for parole and giving incentives so people can do that.”
“What stops so many people from going after recovery is not having the tools to get there, the off-ramps. This is one of the pieces that Conservatives have been consistent in sharing. We need to meet people where they are at, but we cannot just leave them there. We need to give them the tools so they can get into detox and then, from that space, from detox into treatment. In my province of Alberta, the fact that people can do that without having to mortgage a house or wait six years on a wait-list has made the difference as to whether people stay sick or get better. I want to see more support for recovery because people truly can and do get better.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is truly such an honour to be here today to speak to this spectacular bill. I want to sincerely thank my friend, my colleague, the member for Kitchener Centre for being willing to be vulnerable, for being willing to share her story with each and every one of us and to use the pain, the struggle that she went through as she was dealing with addiction early in her life, and how she turned that into a spectacular life. I have had the opportunity of meeting her daughter and seeing the accomplishments she made in her professional life before she came to Parliament. To find out that years prior she had been homeless and sleeping on park benches in the community that she now gets to represent in Parliament, I think, is a huge testament to the fact that recovery is possible.”
“Ronald McDonald House provides comfort, stability and a place to stay during some of life's most difficult moments. I encourage all Canadians to take part in McHappy day and help make a meaningful difference for families in need.”
“Mr. Speaker, today is McHappy day, a day when every purchase at McDonald's helps support families through the Ronald McDonald House charities. In Alberta, 65% of families live outside a city with a children's hospital, meaning that many families must travel far from home and their support networks to access specialized care. In these moments, Ronald McDonald Houses provide a home away from home to families right across Canada. Last year, from Fort McMurray—Cold Lake alone, 52 families benefited from Ronald McDonald House stays, each bringing a little more normalcy and a chance for kids to be kids and for families to connect. When a child is seriously ill, families should not have to worry about where they will sleep or where their next meal is going to come from.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am focused on the people of Fort McMurray—Cold Lake. The problem is that this is yet another Liberal illusion. The biggest barriers that we face in developing Canadian natural resources are imposed by the Liberal government here in Ottawa. It has not repealed a single anti-development law. There is not one tax cut for the resource sector and not one shovel in the ground through the Liberals' Major Projects Office. It is the same old story, because this is just another Liberal. The promise was to move an unimaginable speeds. Can he just very clearly state what is the date for this new Pacific pipeline, just the date, please?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claims that a new pipeline is more probable than possible. Yet, there is no proponent, no start date, no completion date, no route, no timeline, no shovels in the ground, nothing. This is after promising to move at unimaginable speeds. Despite the illusions, it is clear that the Prime Minister is just another Liberal. If he wants Canadians to believe he is anything other than just another Liberal, will he answer this simple question: What is the exact date construction will begin on a new Pacific pipeline, just the date?”
“Mr. Speaker, we are just over a week into the Liberals' sneaky majority, which they got through backdoor deals, and this is the piece of legislation they have decided they are going to ram through and curtail debate. What is this piece of legislation we are talking about? This is a piece of legislation about sexual assault and listening to our veterans. The Liberals are choosing to put political expediency ahead of the needs of victims and our veterans or even listening to our military members. This is all par for the course. I have seen this in Cold Lake at 4 Wing. We still do not have an answer as to when we are going to get all 88 of the F-35s in, because they do not seem to care. This is just a pattern of abuse from the government of not putting veterans and our armed forces members first. The question is simple.”
“Mr. Speaker, here is a news flash: Families and parents want to feed their own kids. They do not want to have to rely on government just to be able to get by. I know it is hard for the Liberals to understand that, but that is what parents say every single day. My question is simple. Will the Liberals finally drop all of their deficit spending and bring things in budget? How many more reports have to come out before the Liberals stop this costly credit card spending and make food more affordable for families?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister , a former banker who should know a thing or two about economics, has doubled Trudeau's deficit. Higher deficits lead to higher debt, higher inflation and ultimately higher taxes for Canadians. He is effectively running up the government's credit card without any plan to tackle the principle. Families do not run their budgets this way. Liberal policies are just driving up costs, and nowhere is this more clear than a trip to the grocery store. Canadians now have the highest food inflation in the G7. When will the Liberal Prime Minister end his costly credit card budgeting so Canadians can afford to eat?”
“Mr. Speaker, the reality is that 73% of Canadians say they are cutting back on spending. There are already reports of food suppliers adding surcharges to offset the soaring cost of fuel, which will only increase the cost of food. Food banks are reporting they are spending more on fuel and less on food as demand continues to soar. Families need relief today, yet the Prime Minister's solution is a temporary half-measure, leaving gas taxes largely in place. Every tax on fuel is a tax on families and a tax on food. Will they do the right thing and remove all taxes on gas, yes or no?”
“Mr. Speaker, nearly three-quarters of Canadians say that the rising cost of essentials, like food and fuel, is putting serious strain on their finances. After years of Liberal policies driving up the cost of living, Canadians are being forced to make impossible choices just to get by. Yet, just yesterday, Liberals voted against a motion that would have removed taxes on gas and diesel, lowering prices for families. The question is simple: Will the Prime Minister listen to hard-working families, remove gas taxes and make life more affordable for Canadians?”
“One thing I will share is that recovery takes a lot of work. People who choose recovery are some of the bravest people I have ever had the chance to encounter. This is not them taking the easy way out; this is them doing the hardest work possible. What the bill from my colleague, the member for Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière , is proposing is simply allowing these kids to put in the hard work and get their life back on track. I am going to close by saying this. If there is still time to help a young person turn their life around, we have the responsibility to try. Why would we not, for David, for the friends of David and for every family still hoping for a different outcome? (1720) [ Translation ] For David, for all of David's friends and for all the families across Canada hoping for a different outcome, we should pass this bill.”
“Members of the House all come with different perspectives, but we share one basic responsibility. We are here to make decisions that affect real people, especially young people who are struggling and still have a chance to turn their life around. Every single person has a chance to turn their life around, but why are we not affording this to the youth in our country? The bill is not asking us to choose between accountability and compassion. It is asking us to finally align them in a way that reflects reality. Young people need both structure and support. Families need options, not hopelessness. Our justice system needs tools to match the complexity of what it is seeing. That is what Bill C-231 offers: a practical step towards a system that intervenes earlier, connects better and gives young people a real chance at direction.”
“I am encouraging all my colleagues to consider supporting the bill and giving kids across Canada some of the support that is available if they happen to be lucky enough to be from Alberta. The same principle is what is here in Bill C-231 . It is trying to bring more consistency into the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The bill asks us to recognize something simple, which is that for many young people, addiction is not separate from their contact with the justice system. It is often at the centre of it. If we treat each court appearance as an isolated event, we miss the pattern and we miss the chance to intervene. The legislation is about connecting these dots. It would ensure that when the justice system sees a pattern, it could respond, and with more than repetition. It could respond with treatment, structure and a path towards recovery.”
“It means that a parent is not left alone, wondering whether their child will survive another night out in crisis. It also means that police are not repeatedly acting as the default responders to what is fundamentally a health issue. It means that emergency departments are not becoming the only safety net available. It means that young people are given a real opportunity to pause, to stabilize and to engage with treatment before their situation becomes worse. PChAD is not perfect. No program is. However, it reflects an important principle: When addiction is present in a young person's life, early structured interventions can change outcomes. I have met some of the children who went through this program, and it changed their life. Recovery is in fact possible.”
“This is one example where Alberta provides a powerful example through our PChAD, protection of children abusing drugs, program. Under PChAD, families in Alberta have a legal option where young people in severe substance use can get involuntary treatment. Families can apply to the court for help, and, importantly, the system responds in a way that is focused on stabilization and recovery, not punishment. When a judge issues a PChAD order, the young person can be placed in a structured, supervised setting where immediate safety is addressed. Withdrawal can be managed, if necessary, and a clear pathway into treatment is created. It also brings families into the process in a meaningful way, rather than leaving them isolated and overwhelmed while trying to manage a crisis at home. The practical outcomes are significant and very real.”
“He needed our justice system to offer him the support he needed, and that would have been addiction treatment. If the only response is punitive, we risk missing the chance to actually change the trajectory of their lives. (1715) Adolescence is a window where intervention can genuinely work, where relationships, supports and treatment can redirect a young person before more patterns set in. Strengthening the Youth Criminal Justice Act in this way would reflect a more realistic and humane understanding of what kids need: timely support, accountability paired with rehabilitation, and coordinated services that address the root cause. Done properly, early intervention gives young people a real shot at stability, recovery and a future that looks very different from the path they were on.”
“These experiences have reinforced the importance of a compassionate, evidence-based response that prioritizes immediate safety and also long-term pathways to recovery, recognizing that addiction is a complex health condition. Early intervention in youth addiction is critical because it can significantly improve long-term outcomes by preventing experimentation from developing into entrenched substance use. When we look at Bill C-231 , that idea really sits at the centre of what meaningful reform should achieve, helping young people earlier. Why not? Most youth who come into contact with the justice system are not simply offenders. That was not the case for my brother. He was struggling with addiction, trauma and mental health challenges, and he needed someone to see him.”
“He shared with me that he often wonders what his life would have looked like had he been offered treatment after his first run-in with the law as a minor, how much further ahead he would be had he not lost that decade stuck in addiction, had he been able to get the help he needed sooner. After many years of struggle, he accepted that he had a problem, and he started his journey toward recovery. It was not a straight line, and it took so much work, but he put in the work. I am so incredibly proud to share that my baby brother is now in recovery from addiction and that he is over a year sober today. He is doing so well. He is in his first year of trade school as a plumber-steamfitter. He is literally and figuratively helping build Canada and build what we need, and showing that recovery is possible every single day.”
“What started as teenagers being teenagers very quickly changed. He quickly fell into addiction, using drugs to get through classes and just to get by. He was in the world of addiction and active drug use for over a decade, a decade where he struggled to feel normal, a decade stuck. The only way he felt normal was when he was using drugs, through high school and just barely surviving. Through his decade of active drug use, he had many run-ins with the law. As a family, there was so much stress and so many sleepless nights wondering where he was, how he was doing and if he would ever find a path to recovery. I told him about the bill and asked him about his thoughts. He liked it. He thought it would be a good idea and that it very well might have helped him when he first started on his path of addiction.”
“I met individuals whose lives had been profoundly disrupted by substance use, where stable employment, housing and relationships had completely eroded over time. I also heard from parents, partners and children who were left to cope with uncertainty, fear and repeated cycles of crisis, relapse, overdose and recovery attempts. These experiences underscored how addiction is not an isolated issue but one that affects the entire family system and places significant strain on frontline services such as health care, law enforcement and social services. Today I am going to share a story that is very personal. I want to profoundly thank my brother for allowing me to tell a part of his story. My brother Brent started using drugs at 14, while he was in high school, shortly after our mom's death from cancer.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Bill C‑231 , a bill for David's friends. This bill, introduced by my colleague and friend, the member for Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière , in honour of his son David, seeks to amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act. David left us too soon. He was way too young. I want to take this opportunity to thank my colleague and his lovely wife Caro for courageously taking the initiative to share their story and that of their beloved son. Passing this bill could help many young Canadians who are struggling with addictions. [ English ] In my previous role as shadow minister for addictions, I saw first-hand the chaos and destruction that addiction can cause in the lives of those struggling with the disease, as well as in the lives of their families and communities.”