Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, Quebec and other provinces have the situation under control without using the Emergencies Act. In fact, they do not want it. The Prime Minister has been warned. Will this Prime Minister, who listens only to himself and is introducing emergency legislation without consulting anyone, respect the wishes of the provinces not to have this legislation enforced in their jurisdiction, as is the case for Quebec?

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, on Friday, February 11, the Prime Minister said that the Ottawa police had all the resources they needed to end the impasse. On Monday, February 14, he suddenly invoked the Emergencies Act. What happened between February 11 and 14 to justify this decision? What legal principles is this decision based on?

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, Premier Legault has the situation under control in Quebec, and other provinces do not want the Emergencies Act to apply to them either. All the Prime Minister is doing is adding fuel to the fire and playing partisan games. Will the Prime Minister explain why the whole country must suffer the consequences of a specific situation that is only happening in Ottawa?

Health  Mr. Speaker, many people in my riding approached me this weekend wanting to talk about this government's lack of leadership. I want to remind the Prime Minister that Canadians are 90% vaccinated, and Canada is the most vaccinated country in the G7. We will be voting on a motion this afternoon that calls on the government to come up with a plan by February 28 for getting life in Canada back to normal.

Health  Mr. Speaker, to govern is to make decisions. This government's lack of vision has caused division within its own caucus. After two years of efforts and sacrifices, it is time, as Dr. Theresa Tam says, to reevaluate the public health measures. Will the government choose to move forward or will it keep spinning its wheels by dividing and stigmatizing people?

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, it does not seem like it. Those efforts are not having an impact. People are unable to buy food, are struggling to buy homes and are having difficulty paying their rent. Can we go from leading with the head to leading with the heart and respond to Canadians who are struggling today?

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, Frigos Pleins and L'essentiel des Etchemins, two food banks in my riding, are starting to see families they have never seen before. Requests for food hampers have actually doubled. These organizations are now helping not only people who are unemployed, but also people who have jobs and earn money but cannot make ends meet.

Questions Passed as Orders for Return  With regard to programs which provided money or financing to businesses, sectors, or communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, broken down by program: (a) for each program, what is the total amount distributed to date in the riding of Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis; (b) what was the total number of applications received from the riding of Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis; and (c) of the applications in (b), how many were (i) accepted, (ii) denied?

Housing  Mr. Speaker, as the leader of the official opposition rightly said, inflation hurts. It is well documented. Young families who want to buy a house cannot afford it because of runaway inflation. The dream of owning a home has become out of reach for those aged 40 and under, who are now seeing prices rise every month.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I am not the one saying it. The Canadian Real Estate Association put out some disturbing figures today, showing that for 2021, house prices increased by 25%. How can a young middle-class family ever hope to get on the property ladder when the average price for a home in Canada is now $720,000, and $445,000 in Quebec?

Canada-U.S. Relations  Mr. Speaker, facts are facts. The countervailing duties that the United States is imposing on Canadian softwood lumber are a slap in the face to our industry; they have doubled. The money is being collected at the border rather than being invested in our businesses. As is the case with inflation and the labour shortage, the government is not interested in this issue because it is not interested in the economy.

Canada-U.S. Relations  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister visited the United States. After his Minister of International Trade visited Washington and after the Minister of Finance talked about imposing retaliatory measures, nothing has been done to eliminate the U.S. countervailing duties. It has been one failure after another.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, this warm welcome and my colleagues' friendliness towards me and the entire caucus is what I was trying to convey earlier, and I thank him. I am someone who bounces back. I like to stand up for my constituents and everyone else for just causes. I want to assure my colleague that I will always defend our people, our constituents and everyone in our riding.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, I take exception to the fact that this government is not addressing Canadians' needs, is not addressing the labour shortage, is not addressing inflation and has no plan to balance the budget. This affects Canadians' wallets. That is what we will be debating here in the House.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, obviously, I think that we should have the freedom to take exception to things. That is part of raising awareness of the issues that affect us. If we take exception to something, it means that we are aware of what is happening around us and to us. I think that the throne speech is sterile, uninspired and insipid.