Indigenous Services  Mr. Chair, the member's speech made me remember hearing testimony at a House of Commons committee from former chief Joe Alphonse, who talked about the fact that there were serious fires and everyone around them in non-indigenous communities talked to them in a very disrespectful way.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the delay-and-disappoint Liberals are letting veterans and their families down yet again. This time it is because they failed to eliminate the “marriage over 60” clause that puts veterans' spouses, mostly elderly women, into poverty. When I asked the Minister of National Defence what has happened with the $150 million the Liberals promised for a veterans survivors fund, after four years, he could not give me an answer.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I have worked with the member for many years on the committee, and I respect him deeply. I think Leger was very clear. It is unfortunate that the government did not do its homework to make sure there was a verification process and to make sure the people who gave the input were serving members, veterans who served or their families.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, the reality is that I am not a pollster, but I am pretty darn sure that people who do that work would know exactly how to do it. It is important, and it is respectful to veterans to make sure there is no perception that this might not be the case. That is my concern.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member. We have spent many years together on committee and have served veterans in our roles. I deeply respect her commitment to veterans. I cannot say what the outcome should be. What I do agree with is that it should be veteran-centric, so we need to go back.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for London—Fanshawe. I feel it is absolutely critical to start this speech by recognizing Afghan veterans for their tremendous service. It is a very hard process to go through. I think it is also important to recognize their families, because the truth is that when it comes to the military, it is not only the members who serve but also their families.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I have some concerns about this. We know very clearly, based on the testimony from the minister herself, that this was never verified and that it was actually veterans answering those calls. I am wondering if the member could talk about how we need to talk to veterans a little more inclusively and maybe reflect on the fact that, during the Conservatives' time in government, we heard very similar concerns that veterans were being disrespected and were not being listened to.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I do agree with my friend from Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound that this should be a non-partisan issue. With regard to the people who sacrificed their lives for us in Afghanistan, we know that not only did we lose them there, we lost them when they came home. This really matters.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I thank the member for bringing this to the House today. He and I sit in committee together and share similar concerns with respect to these issues. My question specifically is around the fact that this is not the first time we have seen the department be very unclear in the process of communicating information.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, the NDP also agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.

Seniors  Mr. Speaker, seniors deserve better. We have the fastest-growing senior population ever, and the federal government should have a plan. Here are some examples of gaps. Seniors between 65 and 74 are receiving less OAS. Single seniors, largely women, are facing more economic challenges.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I will be tabling two petitions today. The first petition is for the Ministry of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. It talks about the importance of wild salmon stocks, which are currently under threat. Wild salmon support first nations cultural traditions and complex ecosystems, including contributing to coastal forests, which produce the oxygen we breathe.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition I will be tabling today is on expanded polystyrene, commonly known as styrofoam. The impacts of it are in the marine environment and cause significant harm to marine life, seafood resources and ecosystems. We know it is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to clean up from the shorelines and that it has a high likelihood of entering the marine environment from damaged marine infrastructure, whether encased or not.

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, for me, this is a really important bill, and one that the NDP really fought hard for. We have been fighting for anti-scab legislation for an extremely long time. I think about the times that I have stood on picket lines. If one is from a rural and remote community, sometimes it takes a while to get to that picket line, because people live in very isolated places.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Mr. Speaker, I apologize for taking a moment. I was having a conversation. I am sorry to the member for that. The member talked a bit about the financialization of housing, and I shared in my speech not too long ago how expensive rents are in my communities, which are significantly smaller than some of the communities the member represents.