Foreign interference, more health care and mental health dollars for Ontario and the greenbelt letter

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Julie Dzerowicz M.P.

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Mar 3, 2023, 6:42:09 PM3/3/23

Hello Davenport Friends and Neighbours,

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos visited Davenport this week. The first time a Health Minister has visited our riding! I was delighted to welcome him as he came to visit one of our dental clinics and to hear first hand how the dental care benefit is being received by Davenport residents. I joined him and dentist Dr. Farnaz Bayani for a discussion. Two key takeaways from our discussion; the dental benefit is instrumental to children’s overall health and more needs to be done to get the word out that the dental care benefit is available. The dental care benefit program is still open for children under 12 in households with income under $90,000. Check out the link here for more details on how to apply.

I also made a very important announcement earlier this week at the West End YMCA about new funding to support the expansion of YMCA mental wellness programs. What an amazing organisation and an outstanding team of people who have excellent programs to keep out kids physically and mentally active and healthy!

Last Thursday, the Governments of Canada and Ontario reached an agreement for more federal funding to improve health services for Ontarians immediately and ongoing. Over the next ten years, $73.97 billion in federal funding will be given to Ontario with a focus on four key areas. In addition, $2 billion will be given immediately to address the shortages of doctors, clear backlogs and to support emergency rooms. You can read more here.

Friday, February 24 marked the one year anniversary of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. I attended a rally with PM Trudeau and colleagues at City Hall to mark the occasion. Canada continues to stand with the people of Ukraine as they fight for freedom, peace, democracy, and human rights. It was amazing to see so many people at Nathan Phillips Square on Friday come out to support the people of Ukraine in their fight against Russia’s brutal and unjustifiable actions.

This week, foreign interference in Canadian elections was front and centre. The Procedures and Operating Committee of the House of Commons met to hear from security officials. Super interesting information came out during the sessions showing that intelligence gathering is just one part of a larger picture, and while the committee voted for a public inquiry, officials were clear that a public inquiry would not bring out more information. More below.

The aftermath and devastation of the earthquakes in Turkiye and Northern Syria continue to be on our minds. Our federal government has given $50 million in humanitarian assistance to the region. In addition, Minister of Immigration Sean Fraser announced that the IRCC is giving priority to applications of family members of Canadians from the affected regions. As part of our support, Canada will match $10 million in donations raised by the Humanitarian Coalition and its member organisations to support relief efforts on the ground. If you would like to donate click here.

It was an honour to lead the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association delegation to the 2023 Annual Joint Meetings of the NATO PA in Brussels. NATO PA released a statement of support on the one year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, which you can read here.

The Greenbelt. I have written a letter to Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault on behalf of Davenport residents to say we must do all we can at the federal level to stop the development of the greenbelt! You can read the letter here!

Finally, it’s been amazing to be in Davenport over the last two weeks participating in many of the events and celebrations that have been held. We had two constituency weeks and so it was great to be out and about across the riding.

Have a great weekend Davenport. It’s a pleasure to serve you.

My very best regards,

Julie

Julie Dzerowicz
Member of Parliament, Davenport

Table of Contents

The Top Three: Foreign Interference, Healthcare, Ukraine
Davenport MP Report: Work I am doing on your behalf
Links to other important federal news & announcements
Davenport Federal Funding Available (including Small Business supports!)

The Top Three

1. Federal Government and Ontario sign Health Care Deal

The Federal Government has officially signed a healthcare agreement with the Ontario government.

$73.97 billion in federal funding over 10 years in Ontario, including $8.413 billion for a new bilateral agreement focusing on the four shared health care priorities (see below)
$776 million through the immediate, one-time CHT top-up to address urgent needs, especially in pediatric hospitals and emergency rooms, and long wait times for surgeries.

The four priority areas of the health care agreement between Ontario and the federal government are:

Ensuring access to high-quality family health services (including family doctors) when families need them, including in rural and remote areas, and for underserved communities;
Ensuring a resilient and supported health workforce that provides patients with high-quality, effective, and safe health care services;
Access to timely, equitable, and quality mental health, substance use and addictions services;

Part of this funding is the establishment of mental health and substance use standards for children and youth across Canada. And funding will also go for much needed research and knowledge mobilization on existing standards across various settings where children, youth, and/or young adults access services.

Access for patients to their own electronic health information that is shared with the health professionals they consult.

Data gathering and sharing is an important part of the agreement. Canada and Ontario are committing to collect, use and share health information and to inform Canadians of their progress.

Part of this agreement includes Canada working with Ontario to streamline foreign credential recognition for internationally educated health professionals and advanced labour mobility for key health professionals. This will assist with meeting the demands of our healthcare system and the needs of health service teams.

Our federal government will fulfill our shared responsibility to uphold the Canada Health Act that protects Canadians' access to health care that is based on need and not the ability to pay.

2. Foreign Interference in Canada Inquiry

Canadians are concerned about the allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections.

This week the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee met to hear from top Canadian security advisors on the risk .

National Security and Intelligence Advisor Jody Thomas stated in her testimony that “... while Canadians' concerns about foreign meddling are understandable, they should be assured that the last two federal elections were fair and legitimate.”

Michael Duheme, a deputy commissioner of the RCMP, fielded questions from MPs about why there are no active RCMP investigations underway into the last election

"We are not investigating any elements from the 2019 or the 2021 elections. We did not receive any actionable intelligence that would warrant us to initiate a criminal investigation," said Duheme, who oversees federal policing.

A motion seeking to enact a national public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference was voted on. Opposition parties voted in favour. The Prime Minister now needs to determine the details of the public inquiry.

Fred Delorey, who ran the Conservatives' 2021 campaign, told CBC News Network's Power & Politics yesterday that an inquiry into alleged foreign election meddling would be very challenging.

“A public inquiry would be great political theatre. It would be a lot of fun, it would be great television," Delorey told host David Cochrane. "But I don't know what we'd actually get [in terms of outcomes]."

“Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Morrison, who served on an independent panel to monitor incidents that could have threatened the 2021 election's integrity, said intelligence gathered by CSIS and other national security bodies "rarely paints a full or concrete or actionable picture.”

“Intelligence is not truth," he told Thursday's committee. “It is often inaccurate or partial or incomplete, or in fact designed to throw us off our track."

The Commissioner of Canada Elections, Caroline Simard, launched an independent investigation into allegations of foreign interference in the last two federal election campaigns.The commissioner is responsible to enforce Canada’s federal election laws. She has received 158 complaints re the 2019 election and 16 complaints regarding the 2021 election campaign.

Simard said her office's work is conducted impartially; there's no link between her office and the federal government of the day, the public service or Elections Canada, the federal body that actually runs elections.

3. One Year of War in Ukraine

Friday, February 24 marked one year since Russia began its unprovoked attack against Ukraine, Ukrainian peoples and Ukrainian culture. Since that day Ukrainians have bravely defended not only their sovereignty and independence, but democracy worldwide.

I joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and my colleagues to stand in solidarity with Ukrainians and commemorate the brave people who have lost their lives in the name of democracy.

Our Prime Minister announced that Canada will provide four additional battle tanks to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine in defence of their country, growing our contribution to eight tanks in total. We will also provide an armoured recovery vehicle and over 5,000 rounds of 155 mm ammunition. We will be there to support Ukraine for as long as it takes for them to win this war.

Davenport MP Report

1. Davenport YMCA Announcement supporting Children’s Mental Health programming

Providing community services and support for youth struggling with mental health issues truly make a difference in our communities.

At the West End YMCA, on behalf of the Minister of Mental Health Carolyn Bennett, I announced $165,260 of funding to YMCA of GTA with an additional $50,000 through centralized resources and support to assist in expanding Y Mind , an early intervention and evidence based program for youth mental health.

The programs are intended for young people aged 13-30 years of age who are experiencing mild to moderate anxiety and/or depression, and aim to support the development of effective coping skills and improvements to participants’ overall well-being. Y Mind introduces them to evidence-based tools and connects them with peers and experienced professionals.

Mental health promotion and mental illness prevention are critical components for wellbeing and can help reduce demands on the health care system. Community-based projects focussed on mental health have the potential to improve health outcomes over the course of a lifetime.

I want to thank the incredible team at the West End Y for the warm welcome. Thanks to the Senior Vice President of Health and Fitness at YMCA of Greater Toronto Tammy MacDonald and Director Youth Wellness Programs at the YMCA of Greater Toronto Pearl Agustin.

2. Visit to Rawlinson Community School

Students from Rawlinson Community School sent me letters asking about migrant workers. It was my pleasure to visit the school to meet them in person! They asked a lot of amazing questions on so many different topics! Thanks to the dedicated Principal and teachers for their warm welcome and being such inspiring educators.

3. Support for Turkiye & Northern Syria

Earlier this week, I travelled to Oakville to show my support for the peoples of Turkiye and Northern Syria that have been impacted by the devastating earthquakes. The stories of those on the ground and involved in rescue efforts was very moving.

Canada has donated $50 million in humanitarian support to the region. There is a $10 million matching fund for the Humanitarian Coalition. To donate please click here. We will continue to support Turkiye and Northern Syria during this difficult time.

4. Black History Month with Davenport Boys and Girls Club

Thank you to Division 11 for hosting a very special Black History Month celebration organised by Dovercourt Boys and Girls, with participation of Carlton Village School faculty and students and talented entertainers. So much fun!

5. Minister of Health Visits Davenport

Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos visited Dr. Farnaz Bayani’s dental office in Davenport this week to discuss the positive impact of oral health for our children!

Over 200,000 children have benefited from the Canada Dental Benefit and we hope more will apply.

To recap - the Canada Dental Benefit helps families without dental insurance access to a dentist. Households that make less than $90,000 with children under the age of 12 are eligible to receive up to $650 this year and next.

I encourage all eligible Davenport residents to apply for this benefit - it is quick, easy, and will truly make a difference for our youth!

6. Casa Da Madeira Soup Kitchen

Thank you to the amazing leaders at Casa da Madeira for hosting a soup kitchen for those who are in need.

I dropped by to say hello and to say thank you to the big hearted volunteers. We are a stronger community when we take care of each other.

7. Arsenal Do Minho 24th Annual Festival of the Diatonic Accordion

It was so much fun to join Arsenal Do Minho for their 34th annual festival of the diatonic accordion!

A beautiful night filled with food, music and dance. It also included a surprise performance of Concertinas, a youth group music ensemble.

8.Casa do Alentejo 40th Anniversary

Celebrated Casa do Alentejo’s 40th anniversary. Thank you for all you do to keep the Portuguese language, culture and traditions alive … and to share your amazing culture with Canadians. Diversity is our strength and we are a stronger country because of the contributions of the Portuguese community.

9. Coldest Night of the Year with Sistering and Oasis Dufferin

It was cold but not that cold!!! I had tons of fun participating in TWO “coldest night of the year” events.

Sistering and Oasis Dufferin each held walks to raise dollars. Two amazing organizations we are blessed to have in Davenport!

10. MOCA Spring Exhibit Opening

MOCA’s Spring 2023 exhibit is officially open!

Of course I had to go and check it out! There are 4 new shows with work by Kapwani Kiwanga, Athena Papadopoulous, Susan For Susan and Serkan Ozkaya.