Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House today to speak in support of Bill C-24. This is my second opportunity to speak to this bill, and I take great pride in it, as it is one I wholeheartedly endorse. Assembling a cabinet is one of the first responsibilities of an incoming prime minister.

Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for St. Catharines for his excellent speech. Perhaps the most disappointing part of it was when he said “in conclusion” towards the end, because I could have listened to that all day. The member touched on the efficiencies of this government and this cabinet.

Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, for my colleague on the other side, I wish him the same merry Christmas and happy new year. I just want to touch on one part of his speech, particularly toward the end where he was talking about the openness and transparency of government and how he did not feel as though that was the case.

Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, I have heard the member ask this question a number of times today. What I will say is that the minister of status of women has a full seat at the cabinet table, has the full ability to participate in the discussions, and her or his value, whoever it might be of the day, at least in this government, and is fully part of the decision-making process.

Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for the member. However, the fact is that the size of cabinet now is 75% of what it was during the previous government, when he was involved. The budget would have been more by default then. I find it quite ironic that the Liberals are talking about efficiency in a smaller cabinet and creating cost savings as it relates to cabinet.

Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and pleasure to rise in the House today to speak to this very important topic. I will touch on a few different aspects of it. I would like to start where the discussion left off with respect to increasing gender parity in the workplace and the labour market, and the ability of women to get into jobs, roles, and careers that traditionally they might not have been able to do so.

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women  Mr. Speaker, my actions matter. These three small words have the ability to help change the lives and well-being of all women. December 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women. We have come so far yet still have miles to go. There is no excuse.

Access to Information Act  Madam Speaker, I am so glad that the member raised Phoenix, because this is an issue that I hear about quite a bit during question period. The member talked about how the government was warned not to push the button. The truth of matter is that the Conservatives fired 700 compensation advisers who used to do that work.

Access to Information Act  Madam Speaker, let us just assume for a second that the member is correct, which I do not believe he is, that the legislation does not attempt to fix the problems we seek to fix. On what ground does the member and the opposing party have to stand when the Conservative track record did absolutely nothing for openness and transparency?

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, volunteers play a crucial role in Canadian society. In my riding of Kingston and the Islands, organizations like Martha's Table and St. Vincent de Paul volunteer to help build healthy and socially inclusive communities, not just by their actions but by the spirit of generosity that motivates them to create, support, and sustain non-profit and charitable organizations.

Access to Information Act  Mr. Speaker, just to underscore the hypocrisy of what we are hearing from the other side, I think the member eloquently put it that the irony here is that the opposition has an opportunity to criticize these mandate letters, as they have been doing throughout this debate, because of the fact the government is committed to being open and transparent.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, entitled “Preserving Canada's Heritage: the Foundation for Tomorrow”. The committee found that many of our historic places throughout Canada are under threat and in serious disrepair or are disappearing.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Langley—Aldergrove started off his speech by talking about travel and how committees wanted to travel and that the Conservatives were so good at putting their foot down. At the beginning of this fall session, I had the opportunity to travel with that member to eastern Europe and Ukraine.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  A Conservative wanted the trip.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, my colleague and I have a great relationship. We sit on the environment committee and I have a great amount of respect for him. However, I am troubled about the last 10 minutes and his discussion regarding the trade relationships and the agreements we are building. Being someone who was in that portfolio not that long ago, I know he is aware of how complex those trade agreements can be and how we really cannot negotiate them in public.