Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques on his re-election and thank him for his question. I know he supports diversity. It is very simple. First, I would like to congratulate the Prime Minister for having the courage to admit that unconscious discrimination, systemic racism, exists in all institutions, whether in government, the private sector or NGOs.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating the member for North Island—Powell River on her re-election. In answer to her interesting question about oceans, I would say that I am proud to be part of a government that has its own oceans protection plan. When we took office, very few of the oceans around Canada were protected.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. Once again, it is an honour to work with you, as well as with all of the members and my colleagues in the House. Before I start my remarks, I would like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Steveston—Richmond East in British Columbia.

Hybrid Sittings of the House  Madam Speaker, before I speak for the first time in the House in this 44th Parliament, I would obviously like to thank my constituents and congratulate all the members. I also congratulate you, Madam Speaker, along with the new members. To them I say welcome, because this is the experience of a lifetime.

Points of Order  I would be happy to retract that, Mr. Speaker.

Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, I had technical difficulties and could not complete my S.O. 31 as a result. I would ask for unanimous consent to do it now.

Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, approximately 3,000 families in Canada are affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Every year, 1,000 Canadians die from this disease. Sometimes, we can put a human face on these statistics. That was the case five years ago when we lost our dear friend and colleague, Mauril Bélanger, to ALS.

Government Business No. 10—Broadcasting Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to confirm that the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith is absolutely correct that all of us were cut off. I spoke with IT, and they were aware of it as well.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, TBS released the new “Directive on the Prevention and Resolution of Workplace Harassment and Violence”, available at https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=32671, in December 2020 in line with recent changes to the Canada Labour Code that apply to all federally regulated workplaces.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, with regard to the prorogation of Parliament in August 2020, on February 16, 2021, the deputy secretary to the cabinet (governance) and the Canadian secretary to The Queen and director of policy, machinery of government from the Privy Council Office, PCO, appeared at the procedure and House affairs committee, PROC, and provided information responsive to these questions.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, the Privy Council Office undertook an extensive preliminary search in order to determine the amount of information that would fall within the scope of the question and the amount of time that would be required to prepare a comprehensive response. It was concluded that producing and validating a comprehensive response to this question would require a manual collection, and careful analysis that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.

Paul Mercier  Madam Speaker, I rise this morning to acknowledge a remarkable man from Gatineau, Paul Mercier. Paul is a bit of an icon in my community, not because he seeks recognition for his many contributions to civic life, but precisely because he works tirelessly, often behind the scenes, to ensure that everyone has a shot at a decent life.

Eid al-Fitr  Madam Speaker, yesterday Muslims in Hull—Aylmer celebrated the end of the month of Ramadan. This religious tradition gives believers an opportunity to reflect on values such as peace, harmony, forgiveness, and many other values that we all hold dear whether we are Muslim or not.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, the response from the Office of the Prime Minister is as follows. The recent updates to the Prime Minister’s website, which were adapted from the site created to support the new Deputy Prime Minister, have improved usability for site visitors and provided a fresh code base that is much faster and easier to maintain from an operational perspective.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, the physical and psychological health and safety of employees remain an absolute priority for the Government of Canada. The Government of Canada continues to be guided by the advice and guidance of public health authorities, including Canada’s chief public health officer, and the direction of provinces/territories and cities.