Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, hundreds of Canadians are stranded in Gaza. We have heard the distressing accounts of Canadian citizens who have been told to evacuate but have nowhere to go. Water, food and medicine are running out. Canadians waiting at the closed Rafah border crossing are pleading for help, saying they are looking for any glimpse of hope.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, we have to put a stop to the death and destruction going on in Israel and Palestine. We just learned that a hospital may have been hit in Gaza. The New Democrats have called for the release of hostages and a ceasefire. Some Liberal members also called for a ceasefire, but the Prime Minister rejected these calls.

Situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank  Mr. Chair, I understand that there are very real emotions and really serious concerns, and I respect and acknowledge that. What we are concerned about are the conditions right now that are being imposed on the people of Gaza, the conditions which involve no more electricity, no more clean water, no more access to food and no more access to the resources necessary to run a hospital.

Situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank  Mr. Chair, the only solution to conflict is a political and diplomatic solution, not war. That is what we are proposing because we know that war only leads to more more death, destruction and devastation. That is why we are calling for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and a path to peace and security.

Situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank  Mr. Chair, we are denouncing and are concerned about an approach of collective punishment. Of course, there are serious concerns, and we denounce the terrorist attack of Hamas. However, our concern is that there are many innocent lives that are being put in a condition of desperation and a dire lack of access to basic necessities.

Situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank  Mr. Chair, many human rights experts and the United Nations have expressed dire concerns about the conditions and the lives of people in Gaza. I share those concerns. Anyone who cares about the collective responsibility and the collective humanity we have to protect life will look at the circumstances right now of people in Gaza and say that without access to food, without access to water, without access to electricity and without access to the resources needed to run a hospital, the conditions being imposed are dire.

Situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank  Mr. Chair, we are in a very horrible time right now, and it is important to acknowledge how painful and how difficult this is. What my hon. colleague is pointing out is that the path we are suggesting is to look at our collective humanity, to not lose sight of the fact that every life is precious and dear and that we do not want to walk down a path that will result in even more death, destruction and despair.

Situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank  Mr. Chair, the concerns I want to raise are that we want to protect all lives. The outcome of war is more death and destruction. I quoted Vivian Silver, a peace activist who has spent her life trying to advocate ways for us to move toward peace and security. She herself suggested that conflict and war bring only more death and destruction.

Situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank  Mr. Chair, nine days ago we woke up to the news of the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas on Israelis. Today we have learned that the fifth Canadian is among the victims of Hamas. Netta Epstein, who was just 21 years old, died while trying to protect his girlfriend by jumping on top of a grenade.

Health  Mr. Speaker, the government does not have the courage to take on corporate greed when it comes to the price of groceries or it when it comes to the privatization of our health care system. Shoppers Drug Mart, owned by Galen Weston, is rapidly expanding American-style for-profit health care delivery in our country, and the government is nowhere to be seen.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, it has been 21 months since food prices have outpaced general inflation, and the Prime Minister was not willing to do anything until he started falling behind in the polls. That is two years that Canadians have been struggling because the government is unwilling to take on the real problem, which is corporate greed.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, I know the Conservatives love a history lesson, so let us go back in time to when the Conservatives were in power. Ground beef went up 128%, coffee went up 89% and bread went up by 60%, and the Conservatives' response was to give billions in tax giveaways to wealthy corporations.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, in 2021, the Prime Minister made election promises to stop renovictions and to deter unfair rent increases. Two years later, 500 renters in Toronto are on strike because of renovictions and high rent increases, as well as poor conditions. Now, the Prime Minister and Liberal MPs for Toronto are nowhere to be seen.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I am not finished. In Quebec, 25 doctors made a heartfelt plea: Their patients' health is getting worse because of the housing crisis. After eight years of the current government, the cost of rent has doubled. That is the Liberals' record. Enough with the “could have, would have, should have”.

Indigenous Affairs  Mr. Speaker, during the campaign, Conservatives said they would never search the landfill for the bodies of murdered indigenous women. They were actually trying to score political points off a genocide. It is disgusting, and Manitobans spoke very clearly. They rejected these hateful, divisive Conservative politics.