Business of Supply  You are responsible for the department, not previous governments, minister—

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, under the current government, the science budget for the fisheries side of DFO, which is the side that deals with stock management, has declined by 3%, while the environmental ocean side has seen its science budget increase by 65% Is this why 80% of stocks in the critical zone do not have a recovery plan?

Taxation  Madam Speaker, that is more misinformation from the government, which refuses to deal with the issue of gas taxes. Volunteer fire stations in Nova Scotia are feeling the burn of its bad policies. The Chester Volunteer Fire Department in my riding, thanks to skyrocketing diesel costs, has doubled its fuel budget.

Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act  Madam Speaker, I know that Quebec and the Bloc Québécois had an opportunity, with the Charlottetown Accord, to enshrine a set percentage of 25% of the seats to Quebec in the Constitution. That was an option for the country. Quebec voted 58% against the Charlottetown Accord in the referendum, and I believe the Bloc Québécois at the time campaigned against the Charlottetown Accord, which enshrined 25%.

Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act  Madam Speaker, it was a ruling with regard to redistribution that was done in the province of Saskatchewan. It was challenging the way the makeup of that redistribution was done, and whether or not it was truly reflecting representation through population or a demographic approach.

Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act  Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague and note that his parliamentary assistant is from my riding, so I know he has a great attachment to it, even with family. With regard to protecting proportions, as I went through in my speech, we see that Nova Scotia has dropped from 21 to 11 seats over the course of Confederation.

Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act  Madam Speaker, after a few days of trying to deliver my speech in the House, I am pleased to finally rise. I am pleased that the hon. member for Winnipeg North gets to hear it. We had a good conversation about it last night. I am pleased to rise to speak to Bill C-14, an act to amend the Constitution Act.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of gas coming from the government. Lobster bait costs have more than doubled because of the decisions of the minister. Average fishing fuel costs have gone up 140% since the fall. The government's disastrous policies are increasing bait and fuel costs for fishing, making it more difficult to earn a living.

Service Canada  Mr. Speaker, clearly 500 is not enough. If only there was a way to have a database to track when passports expire. This is why my community is furious. The passport process delays are predictable and unnecessary. To add insult to injury, we are forced to pay an extra $200 as a service charge and, incredibly, another $20 on top of that, not for delivery of the passport but to pick it up at the office.

Health  Mr. Speaker, Gail and John from the South Shore of Nova Scotia were refused entry into Canada upon their return from Florida, in spite of having vaccine proof and their passports. These Canadians were denied entry because they had not filled out the “no ArriveCAN” app. Like many Canadians, they do not have smart phones.

Criminal Code  On the point of order, Madam Speaker, I believe I witnessed and saw that the House leader for the official opposition rose first.

Canada Border Services Agency  Madam Speaker, we hear more responses with no answers from the government. The historic town of Lunenberg has taken a massive hit due to reduced tourism numbers, thanks to the pandemic. International cruise ships have finally returned to Nova Scotia's ports but for some reason, CBSA has not restarted services in Lunenburg, which means that passenger ships cannot dock in the town.

Hon. John William Bosley  Mr. Speaker, I too rise today to pay tribute to my friend, the Hon. John Bosley, and mark his death last week. As most of us know, John was the former member of Parliament for Don Valley West and a former Speaker of this House. It is always sad when we lose a colleague. Despite the partisanship that often divides us, it has been my experience that there is always a degree of collegiality and mutual respect among most members.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, absolutely, the fiduciary responsibility for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission should go, like all other fiduciary responsibility in international agreements, back to Foreign Affairs and allow DFO to manage the policy element of it. Of course, during all the years when the Harper government was in DFO, we actually paid all our bills for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, unlike the NDP-Liberal coalition, which believes that we should take the bill that we get from our neighbours in a treaty, throw it in the garbage and let them carry the weight.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I know the member for Winnipeg North cares about the invasive species in Manitoba; anyone who is a responsible member of Parliament will care about the destruction of our natural biodiversity. Obviously, even though I am seasoned, I was not actually here during those days.