Canada Disability Benefit Act  Madam Speaker, I am delighted to rise today to express my support for the second reading of Bill C-22, the Canada disability benefit act. Debate commenced earlier today in the House. We have taken a huge step toward securing the right for every Canadian to fully participate in society through unimpeded access to basic services, in particular opportunities for long-term and adequate employment.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, Canada has a long and proud history of welcoming newcomers with open arms. There are several amazing organizations in my riding of Richmond Hill that provide support services to help people settle into their new community. It takes immense bravery to move to a new country.

Improvements to Long-Term Care  Madam Speaker, I am delighted to rise today to participate in the second hour of debate on Motion No. 47, a motion introduced by my colleague, the hon. member of Parliament for Avalon, regarding improvements to long-term care. I am going to keep my remarks very brief today, as I recognize that the content of this motion serves to address pressing issues that should already be deemed both urgent and important by all members of the House.

Italian Heritage Month  Madam Speaker, during the beautiful month of June, there is a lot to celebrate. The sun is shining, the ice cream trucks are back and there are numerous cultural heritage months to acknowledge, but in my riding of Richmond Hill there is one occasion we are especially excited to celebrate.

Asian Heritage Month  Mr. Speaker, the stories of Asian Canadians are unique, diverse and deserve to be heard. As May comes to an end and we bid farewell to Asian Heritage Month, we must continue to amplify Asian voices while acknowledging the lived realities of being Asian in Canada, and learning more about the vibrancy that each language, ethnicity and tradition of Asian heritage brings to our country.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, could the minister explain or comment on the multipronged approach that we have taken on making sure that we have not only secured vaccines internationally, but also build domestic capacity and investments in research and development?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, could the minister comment on the ongoing investment and our plan going forward with the vaccine, the supplies and therapeutics that we are procuring to ensure that Canadians continue to be protected?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I am thankful for the opportunity to address the committee on a topic we know all too well. More than two years ago, our lives were forever changed by the emergence of COVID-19. Since that time, all Canadians have experienced immense sacrifices and loss in one form or another.

Innovation, Science and Industry  Mr. Speaker, as we emerge from the pandemic, our focus is on creating inclusive and sustainable economic growth and making life more affordable for Canadians. In order to do this, we know that we need to support and modernize our traditional industries, such as the auto and aerospace industries, while also laying the groundwork for Canada to become a global leader in new and emerging sectors, including EVs, quantum computing, AI and clean tech.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1  Madam Speaker, that is a very important question. I have many stakeholders in my riding who are dealing with disabilities. One of the challenges we have is that there are also provincial programs that are being rolled out in conjunction with what we are planning in the federal government.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1  Madam Speaker, I expected that, coming from one of the Bloc members, who always ask us to transfer more funds without any accountability. I am part of the HESA committee, and through a lot of witnesses and through my community councils I have always heard about the fact that we need to make sure that the funds that are being transferred to provinces come with some strings attached, and the strings attached are basically to make sure it is transparent, accountable and delivering the results we are delivering.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1  Madam Speaker, the $300 billion was an investment in Canadians, from all aspects, whether it was directly to individuals or to businesses in various sectors, and as I said in my speech, the result is evident now. We are back with 115% job recovery; we are back with over three million jobs.

Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1  Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to join today’s debate on Bill C-19, the budget implementation act. Let me begin by stating something that I have mentioned before about this budget. This is a fiscally prudent budget that is also focused on economic growth. If we are looking for a theme and a direction, here is the theme and here is the direction.

Mental Health Week  Mr. Speaker, as a mental health advocate, I am pleased to rise today to acknowledge Canadian Mental Health Week, May 2-8. We are all aware of the immeasurable impact of COVID-19 on Canadians' mental health, but we need to couple awareness with actions in various ways. First, we need to understand the problem by investing in research and evidence-based policies that inform us of the social determinants of health and mental health outcomes.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, there has always been a plan. The plan is to make sure that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. We need to make sure that we not only protect jobs for those who are working in the energy sector, but also provide bridging programs for retraining to give people the opportunity to transition into sectors that are much greener.