Criminal Code and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Madam Speaker, first I would like to congratulate my colleague for being elected to the House of Commons. From the comfort of our living room at home, wherever we might be in Canada, we believe that incarcerating people and toughening sentences will magically make Canadians safer.

Criminal Code and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to speak to Bill C-5. This bill was introduced during the previous Parliament. It is very important for all Canadians, but especially for Black Canadians and indigenous people. It is also important for the safety of Canadians in general, because Bill C-5 seeks to address two problems with our system.

Criminal Code and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her excellent speech. I have a simple question for her. Minimum sentences have been in place for more than a generation now, and in that time we have seen an increase in the use of guns and in the incarceration of Black and indigenous people.

Business of Supply  I think it is important in my riding of Hull—Aylmer. It was very clear that we needed to make sure that businesses were able to keep their doors open and that the government had their back. We said we would do anything necessary to do that. Opposition members have said they would not have supported Canadians through this pandemic.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I would like to thank you for allowing me to participate in this session of the committee of the whole of the House of Commons. In the recent federal election, Canadians made it clear: Housing affordability is one of their top issues. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and worsened Canada's serious housing challenges.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Milton and commend him on the quality of his French. He has worked very hard these past two years, and I congratulate him for the progress he has made. As members of Parliament, we have an obligation to deal with this issue in a non-partisan way, especially when discussing matters of life and death.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I would like to acknowledge my friend from the opposition, with whom I had the opportunity to work on a private member’s bill. He asked a very simple question, but life is rarely so simple, and simplistic solutions rarely work in complex situations. We saw a very unusual situation with the fall of the Afghan government and the return of the Taliban, which very few serious people saw coming.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, again, I want to thank and commend my friend from the Bloc Québécois. I can easily answer his question: The answer is yes. The government is already doing that. We are working with the Taliban government to ensure that we can safely repatriate these Afghans who want to leave and settle in Canada.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, my colleague from Vancouver is asking an important question. I do not have an answer for her at this time, but I can assure her that I will raise her question to get that answer. We all want the same thing: to provide help to the Afghans swiftly and effectively.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I just want to mention that I will share my time with the member for Scarborough Centre, a colleague I respect deeply, like very much and have had the pleasure of knowing for six years now. Before I begin my speech, I would like to congratulate you, Madam Speaker, on your appointment to the position of Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, my question will be brief, but I imagine the answer will be long, and I would like to stress the nuance. Could my colleague tell us about what happened in the past when Mr. Harper, Mr. Duceppe and a third person, whose name I forget, found a way to study such a file?

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery  Mr. Speaker, the great William Faulkner wrote “The past is never dead. It's not even past”. Unfortunately, we see that reflected in the scourge of slavery. Today is the United Nations International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. Slavery still exists today. Its modern forms include sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced marriages and the recruitment of children in armed conflict.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Kenora on his re-election. I have had the pleasure of visiting his riding a number of times. I am particularly proud of our record on reconciliation. When we were elected in 2015, there were 105 boil water advisories on reserves. By 2021, this problem has been addressed in more than 110 of these communities.

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.