Emergency Debate  Madam Speaker, I am sorry I am not able to address the member in French. I am taking French lessons and working on that. I wanted to point out that as a progressive in Alberta who represents Edmonton Strathcona, I also represent the people who did not vote for the Conservatives in Alberta, which is about 40% of Albertans.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, the motion is about dental care and the need we have seen across the country for dental care. While there are a number of different things that the NDP has been fighting very hard for, in this motion we are looking at dental care and how we can support people who need some support for their dental care.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I am glad that the Bloc is a progressive party. It is nice to have them on our side of the room. We would like to see a plan that would be national in scope. We are looking for dental care that would be available to any Canadian who needs it. Whether or not there is an opportunity to discuss that further, I would have to talk to my colleagues.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague that, unfortunately, we are used to hearing the right words from across the floor but do not necessarily see the actions to follow through with them. I could tell members anecdote after anecdote from the people I have talked to who would benefit so much right now from having access to dental care.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Timmins—James Bay. I would like to thank my NDP colleagues for using the first opposition day to urge the government to work collaboratively for working-class Canadians. In this minority Parliament, the Liberals have a choice.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, Albertans are paying the price for a failure of leadership by both Jason Kenney and Justin Trudeau. Teck's decision—

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, Teck's decision last night is a direct result of their failure on climate change and our energy sector. In Alberta, families and businesses that create jobs need certainty from the government, not more failure. The path to a strong economic future requires federal leadership and investment in economic diversification.

International Trade  Madam Speaker, with all due respect, to talk about promoting, advising and examining is not what we are talking about here. We need to have an ombudsman who actually has the ability to make decisions, to compel witnesses, to have judicial powers. The idea that we are going to sit back and advise companies that it would be nice if they did not abuse human rights around the world while flying the Canadian flag and it would be pleasant if we could ensure that women and families are not forced to drink poisoned water is not enough.

International Trade  Madam Speaker, so-called Canadian mining companies are destroying our nation's reputation around the world. The horrific impact of these companies is neither new nor surprising, given the lack of accountability of so-called Canadian companies when it comes to upholding human rights, labour rights and environmental rights in countries in which they operate.

Government Priorities  Mr. Speaker, Jason Kenney's policies and cuts are hurting Albertans, but so is the government's refusal to deliver on its promises. The Liberals are failing on reconciliation. They are failing on the environment. They are failing on diversifying the economy and supporting Alberta workers.

Government Priorities  Mr. Speaker, while the Liberals are failing to de-escalate the growing crisis across this country, they are creating another one for working people in my province. In Alberta alone, 19,000 people have lost their jobs in the last month. Jason Kenney's policies and cuts are hurting Albertans, but so is the current government in its refusal to deliver on its promises.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, if we can all agree that there needs to be significantly longer than 26 weeks for people to recover from cancer, it really does not matter if that is the recommendation from the government. We are saying, as one of my colleagues said earlier, we want to support Canadians when they need it so they can go back to work, so they can be healthy, can contribute and get back into the system.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is a very important issue and we need to fix it. We have clearly seen that this system is incredibly broken. The fact that 1971 was a long time ago means that we do need to a fulsome review of this to come up with a solution that will work. I would welcome having this looked at in more depth at the committee level.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, absolutely people will fall through the cracks. I thank the good member for bringing up the fact that while we stand in the House and talk about numbers, such as numbers of weeks, and the vital role we have, we do not forget these are people. These are people who are suffering from serious illnesses, They possibly are at the worst moments in their life.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to know why the government could possibly refuse me. When the Liberals were not in government, they supported 50 weeks for people to recover from serious illnesses. Therefore, I have this question. What has changed in the time they were not sitting on that side of the House?