Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, in British Columbia and across the country, more and more young people are interested in learning French. Last week, to launch Francophonie Month, I visited an immersion class with the Minister of Official Languages. Can the minister tell the House how she is supporting French-language instruction in our province?

Heritage Week  Mr. Speaker, next week, February 20 to 26, is Heritage Week across Canada. In my home province of British Columbia, the Heritage Week theme is “Always in All Ways”; citizens are invited to explore and celebrate the culture and heritage of the communities that make up the places we each call home.

Government Programs  Mr. Speaker, last month, I had the opportunity to connect with many constituents about their experiences with the Canada child benefit, or CCB, and the new child care agreement in B.C. One woman told me her heartbreaking story of being in an abusive relationship. Because of the CCB, she was able to leave and restart the lives of herself and her children.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from people within my riding and beyond. In Cloverdale—Langley City, immigration is very important, and there have been some concerns raised about how the interest to sponsor form was handled coming out of the pandemic. That is the intention of the petition.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, entitled “A Study into the Government of Canada's Promise to Cap Greenhouse Gas Emissions of the Oil and Gas Sector“.

Salvation Army  Madam Speaker, last weekend I had the honour of volunteering with the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign outside the Langley Superstore. The kettle campaign is one of Canada's largest and most recognizable charitable events during the Christmas season. The funds raised stay in the community in which they are donated and are used to support local Salvation Army programs for people in need.

Historic Places of Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, I hear the passion in my colleague's intervention. I have had the chance to visit many historic sites within the province of Quebec, and I heard her say that the Bloc will be supporting this legislation, which would give us much-needed protections. I really would like to commend the member for using the Central Experimental Farm as an example.

Historic Places of Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague's intervention on Bill C-23 today. I have been to his area, to Camrose, having grown up in the Prairies and having family there. I heard about his passion for the area of Neutral Hills, which I actually have never visited, and he spoke about the first nations teepee rings, arrowheads and other cultural objects there.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, entitled “Supplementary Estimates (B), 2022-23.”

Historic Places of Canada Act  Madam Speaker, we both share a passion for Fort Langley National Historic Site. Interestingly, the designation that was done at that location goes back to 1923 and does not reference the indigenous peoples with whom Fort Langley did business as a Hudson's Bay site. We know the Kwantlen First Nation lives across the river and played an integral role.

Historic Places of Canada Act  Madam Speaker, McLean Mill is a fabulous national historic site. I have had the chance to visit it. It, like many third party-owned sites, as was mentioned, qualifies for the cost-share program. When we studied the program back when I was on the environment and sustainable development committee, we did see there was a greater need for federal support.

Historic Places of Canada Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to note that the member's wife and I worked together for many years in Parks Canada, and we share a passion for the work the organization does. Historic places have a huge opportunity to play a significant role in reconciliation. We have many designations, such as fur trade forts and military forts that, in many cases, do not recognize the indigenous relationships that existed over time.

Historic Places of Canada Act  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the work that he has done in this realm. As I noted, this legislation deals very much with federally owned national historic sites at this stage, and the government has invested significantly in helping Parks Canada and other federal departments and agencies to improve not only the quality but also the reporting, understanding the condition of these heritage assets.

Historic Places of Canada Act  Madam Speaker, the important part of this legislation is getting it before the House and having debates, and hearing questions and concerns, such as the issue raised by the member. We need to get it to committee so that these types of questions can be studied and perhaps amendments can be made.

Historic Places of Canada Act  Madam Speaker, there are a couple of pieces to that very important question that I would like to discuss. One of them is that this would give protections, once and for all, to federally owned national historic sites. Things like viewscapes are part of the essence of a historic place.