Housing  Mr. Speaker, the previous Conservative government did not allocate $30 million, as we have. However, I want to thank the hon. member for his concern for homeowners in the Mauricie region, whose foundations have been damaged by the presence of pyrrhotite. I can assure him that we are also concerned on this side of the House, and we intend to take action.

Poverty  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Toronto—Danforth for the question and for her passion on this issue. There are a number of historic measures we have already taken to reduce poverty. To name a couple, we have introduced the Canada child benefit, benefiting nine out of ten Canadian families and lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank the member for bringing this matter before the House. Canada benefits from a strong and healthy housing system, but we can do much better. We will shortly be releasing some of the details that the hon. member has asked about. We will be helping vulnerable Canadians find sound, suitable, and sustainable housing.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the member for Hochelaga. I can assure her that the government shares her concern for low income households that may be impacted by the expiry of long-term social housing operating agreements. In fact, budget 2016 addresses this very issue with significant short-term investments to preserve existing rent-geared-to-income units in social housing projects across the country.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member's riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith is a riding with significant needs to reduce poverty. She can rest assured that helping vulnerable Canadians find suitable, affordable, and sustainable housing is and always will be a priority for this government and, indeed, for members on both sides of the House.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I believe our government has been very clear in budget 2016 about our plans to invest in affordable housing, and I will take advantage of the opportunity that the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith provides me to reiterate our commitment to affordable housing for the benefit of members on all sides of the House.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. I forgot to thank the previous hon. member for his question, so I will do that now. I had the very good fortune to be the environment commissioner for the Province of Manitoba, the home province of the member for Elmwood—Transcona, and I know the importance of good process.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member from Toronto for her question. Indeed, we do share much in common. My riding is the home of the University of Manitoba, our major research university. We have enhanced grants, particularly for low-income families, as well as loans. Student will now have to make at least $25,000 before having to begin paying back their student loan.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I think the record is clear. We have had 10 years of stagnation in this country, 10 years of low growth under the previous government, and this budget makes historical investment with which we will stimulate our economy, create jobs, and lift children out of poverty.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the alternative was a Liberal Party, led by the Prime Minister, that believed the middle class deserves better. Voters saw that while the wealthiest 1% of society had seen their incomes more than double in the last 30 years, middle-class incomes had stagnated. Middle-class Canadians were doing all the right things—studying hard, working hard, and making a real contribution to the Canadian economy—but their hard work was not paying off in higher incomes.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege and honour for me to rise and speak today in the House on the subject of our government's 2016 budget. It is not an exaggeration to say that we have the good fortune to live in one of the world's great democracies. Canadian democracy as we know it has been evolving over 250 years.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, since its creation on April 1, 2013, the tribunal has received a total of 17,190 Canada pension plan disability appeals. As of November 1, 2015, the number of active Canada pension plan disability appeals has been reduced to 5,969. Of those 5,969 appeals, there are only 332 appeals that are left from the backlog of over 6,000 cases initially transferred from the office of the commissioner of review tribunals.

Social Development  Madam Speaker, let there be no doubt that we on this side of the House share the hon. member's concern. We know we have work to do to improve the process for appealing benefit decisions. No Canadian should be left hanging without a decision about the benefits to which they are entitled.

Social Development  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot regarding her concern for Canadians appealing decisions through the Social Security Tribunal, especially those waiting for disability benefits. I share her concern. The recent report from the Auditor General highlighted some challenges with the Social Security Tribunal and the appeals process for some of our most vulnerable Canadians.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her helpful suggestions. As promised during the election, our government is committed to developing a strategy to re-establish the federal role in support of affordable housing. The strategy will prioritize investments in affordable housing and seniors housing over the next 10 years.