Thank you, Madam Chair.
I invite you all to grab your earpiece. The lower switches are the ones switching to English and French. Eventually, we may have first languages in the translation services. We actually do have that now in the new House of Commons, which is great news.
I would like to refer everyone to my colleague Ms. Georgina Jolibois’s very short bill, entitled An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code (National Indigenous Peoples Day). In the summary, it states that the “enactment amends certain Acts to make National Indigenous Peoples Day a holiday.”
That’s the issue we need to focus on. We’ve talked a lot about this over the past few months. I recall my fellow member, Mr. Blaney, raising the issue of Remembrance Day. Members on both sides spoke passionately on the subject. They all wanted to pay tribute to our armed forces but wondered whether it was a good idea to establish a holiday.
Frankly, this isn’t about selecting a date—granted, we do have to choose one, of course. Ms. Lomax pointed out that we wouldn’t consider combining Canada Day, July 1, with Remembrance Day.
I’m worried about the issue getting bogged down; it’s important to move forward. We’ve heard a range of views, and, yes, there is a risk in terms of combining the days. We need to consider whether designating June 21 as the new holiday is appropriate when orange shirt day exists as well.
Mr. Obed and Ms. Lomax, I’d like you to talk more about that. As you clearly pointed out, Ms. Lomax, we would never consider combining Remembrance Day and Canada Day, a day of celebration. Do you think we should proceed?
I’m worried because the end of the parliamentary session is looming, so I want to make sure that the bill comes to fruition at the end of all this.