Situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank  Mr. Speaker, I join my hon. colleague in condemning Hamas. I also noted in his speech and appreciated that he talked about protecting lives. He is also likely aware that in recent days there have been 6,000 bombs dropped on Palestinians, and almost 3,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition that is fairly timely, from petitioners who call for the Government of Canada to follow through on the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The petitioners note that the Government of Canada has followed through on only a very small fraction of those calls to action since they were released in 2015.

MT Space  Mr. Speaker, almost 20 years ago, shortly after immigrating from Lebanon, Majdi Bou-Matar founded MT Space, an incredible arts organization in the Waterloo region that centres marginalized and racialized artists and stories in our community. His goal at the time was to establish an international theatre festival within 10 years.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Mr. Speaker, I would say that housing is a human right and it deserves to be more than a preamble in a bill. It needs to be enshrined in legislation.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Mr. Speaker, I will agree with the member for Winnipeg North on this point any day of the week: We need all levels of government to step up. However, we also need to be honest. With respect to the investment the member mentioned for co-op housing, which is one that I mentioned in my speech, I am really glad.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Joliette for his question, which is so important. The definition of affordable housing differs from one government program to the next. If one definition of affordable housing applies to just 80% of the market, we are not really talking about affordable housing.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise to speak on behalf of the folks from Kitchener Centre with respect to Bill C-56, the signature measure of which would involve removing the GST from rental home construction. I will start by saying very clearly that I certainly support this bill, as does my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands.

MT Space  Mr. Speaker, almost 20 years ago, shortly after immigrating from Lebanon, Majdi Bou-Matar founded MT Space, an incredible arts organization in the Waterloo region that centres racialized and marginalized artists and stories in our community. His goal was to establish an international theatre festival within 10 years.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Madam Speaker, following up on that point, as the member for London—Fanshawe likely knows, the carbon tax, in the last year, added two cents a litre to the cost of gas. Excess profits of the oil and gas industry added 18¢. That is why I put forward a motion that calls for a windfall profit tax on oil and gas companies, specifically looking to work with members of all parties to do something extremely reasonable and responsible to get at the corporate greed that she is speaking about.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands spoke about the structural issues that led to the housing crisis we are in, issues that have persisted for decades as investment in housing has dropped off. For example, in 2022, the rapid housing initiative, a one-time fund, was not renewed.

Electoral Reform  Madam Speaker, I want to start by pausing on this point about any kind of reform being imposed. This notion to me is not a fair argument to start with because that is what elections are for. Promises are made, people are voted for and those promises are meant to be followed through on.

Electoral Reform  Madam Speaker, over 1,800 times, the Prime Minister promised in the 2015 election—

Electoral Reform  Madam Speaker, over 1,800 times, the Prime Minister promised in the 2015 election that it would be the last election under a winner-takes-all first-past-the-post system. I probably do not need to bore anyone with the details to know that this promise was not kept. It is obvious that politics got in the way.

Persons with Disabilities  Mr. Speaker, while the minister responsible for people with disabilities says it is going to be 18 more months until anyone receives the Canada disability benefit, Canadians with disabilities continue to disproportionately live in poverty across the country. Like me, the Prime Minister has never had the experience of living under the crushing weight of legislated poverty, but he can do something about it.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise to present a petition on behalf of petitioners who, first of all, recognize that the overdose crisis is one that is a public health emergency. The petitioners note that more than 26,690 people have died of opioid-related causes since 2016. They also note that organizations including the Canadian Public Health Association, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, the World Health Organization and the United Nations have all recommended drug decriminalization.