Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome to the House the new member for Gatineau as well as the member for Davenport. I would like to say to the member for Gatineau that it is very good to have another woman present in the House because there are not enough women in the House of Commons. I am sure I am speaking for all of us.
I would point out to her that we in the NDP have always played a very critical role in minority parliaments. Some of the issues that she mentioned have come about as a result of minority parliaments. Social housing, medicare, and a national energy policy happened as a result of the role that the NDP played and the work that the NDP did in other minority parliaments. I would certainly let her and other members know that we intend to play that very central and critical role in this Parliament.
I listened to the throne speech today and her response to the throne speech. They are very good commitments and promises but they are things that we have heard many times before. Thirteen budgets have gone by and we still do not have a national child care program. Many budgets have gone by and we still do not have a national housing program. The member spoke about the need for social housing in her own riding.
I would like to ask the member if she sees a bit of a contradiction here. Does she believe that the government is actually going to live up to its commitment to the promises it made and which it never delivered on over the many years when the Prime Minister was finance minister? Does she believe that in this minority Parliament there will now be an opportunity to deliver on those promises because the NDP is here?