The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for York South—Weston. First, I would like to point out how honoured I am to be able to talk about the historic budget tabled by the government on March 22. I am proud that this budget reflects the hopes and expectations not just of the people in my riding of Vaudreuil—Soulanges, but of many Canadians across the country.

Youth  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to answer the question posed by my hon. colleague from Salaberry—Suroît. One thing I can say is that we are incredibly proud of what we are doing as a government for our youth. Keep in mind that the previous government did not have a minister of youth. Keep in mind that the previous government did not take the needs of our youth seriously, and because of that we saw that, for 10 years, the unemployment rate for young people in this country stayed stagnant at roughly the same amount.

St. Patrick's Day Parade  Mr. Speaker, a sure sign that spring has officially arrived in Vaudreuil—Soulanges is the start of all the festivals and events that are so vital to our communities. On the weekend, I had the honour of participating in the 7th annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Hudson, an event where the young and not-so-young are invited to be Irish for the day.

Kenneth Lefrançois  Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to pay tribute to a noteworthy Canadian from my riding, who would have celebrated his 71st birthday yesterday. Mr. Kenneth Lefrançois was a husband, a father, a friend, a Rotarian, and a mentor to many. Ken was born in Newfoundland in 1945.

Gérald Laniel  Mr. Speaker, today it is my sad duty to report to my colleagues that a former federal MP has died. Gérald Laniel represented the people of Beauharnois—Salaberry from 1962 to 1984. He passed away on February 2 in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. His career was admirable. During his 22 years of service to his constituents, he served as parliamentary secretary to the minister of Industry and Commerce, deputy speaker of the House of Commons and chair of the International Association of French-Speaking Parliamentarians.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like some clarification, because I am somewhat confused. In my colleague's remarks, he spoke about the fact that many Canadians across the country are having a hard time making ends meet. It is something that all of us in the House recognize and understand. Yet he denigrated the fact that the government would like to put hundreds of dollars back in the pockets of families who need it most, while at the same time mentioning that the limit of the tax-free savings account before the Liberals took power was at a level where only 7%, as the Minister of Finance pointed out, could actually use the full amount.

Meritorious Service Decoration  Mr. Speaker, today I would like to highlight the accomplishments of one of my constituents. This past December, Marc Balevi of Hudson, Quebec was awarded the Governor General's Meritorious Service Decoration. As we know, this decoration is awarded to recognize remarkable contributions of those who are true mentors, those who have improved the quality of life of their community, and those who have brought honour to Canada.

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from across the aisle for his question and accolades. We have put in place many measures that will help lower-income families, many of which would have helped my mother when she was raising my brother and I on her own, particularly a significant increase to the Canada child benefit, which will lift over 300,000 children in this country out of poverty.

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, health care is an issue that is of personal concern to me. I have been diagnosed with cancer twice in my life and I understand all too well the wait times that some of face in the various provinces across the country. One of the things that I am very proud of is the fact that our Prime Minister has stated clearly and categorically that we will once again play a proactive rule in working with the provinces to ensure that we are offering the best possible support to the provincial systems in offering quality health care to all Canadians.

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, one of the things I am most proud of in working with the Prime Minister is to see the utmost importance he places on the quality of health care, the quality of opportunity for our youth across the country. He has basically given me a mandate to work with him in whatever capacity I can to ensure that we are providing quality health care, quality care in terms of mental care, and ensuring that we are providing opportunities for youth to find jobs.

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, I am honoured to be here, in this historic chamber, to deliver my first speech as the member of Parliament for Vaudreuil—Soulanges. I want to thank the people of Vaudreuil—Soulanges for their support and for giving me the opportunity to represent them here in Parliament for this term.