Protection of Freedom of Conscience Act  Madam Speaker, one of the most common threads we heard throughout the testimony from experts on Bill C-7 was that there was a need for national conscience rights. The committee heard from patients rights groups, lawyers, disabilities rights experts, medical ethicists, indigenous leaders, imams, rabbis and priests, as well as individuals who provided testimony of their own personal experiences, which are very different than the one that the member spoke to.

Protection of Freedom of Conscience Act  Madam Speaker, obviously support for legislated conscience rights protection varies between associations and colleges, as well as from province to province. I would just point out that paragraph 42 found that there was no direct evidence that access to health care was a problem caused by physicians' religious objections to providing MAID.

Protection of Freedom of Conscience Act  moved that Bill C-230, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (intimidation of health care professionals), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise today to begin the debate on my private member's bill, Bill C-230, the protection of freedom of conscience act.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to the 34,000 unprocessed applications at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC): (a) will the 560 temporary staff hired to deal with the backlog have their contracts renewed, and, if so, until when; and (b) does VAC have projections on how large the backlog will be in the future if the contracts are (i) renewed, (ii) not renewed, and, if so, what are the projections, broken down by quarter for the next two years?

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to table. Freedom of conscience is a fundamental right clearly articulated in section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I have the honour to table a petition, signed by hundreds of citizens across Canada, calling on Parliament to protect the conscience rights of medical professionals from coercion or intimidation to provide or refer patients for assisted suicide or euthanasia.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I also have the honour of tabling a petition calling on the government to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis, without discrimination on the basis of political or religious values and without the imposition of another values test, and to affirm the right of Canadians to freedom of expression.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, Putin's war machine is funded by Russian oil and gas production and exports. Ukrainians are suffering as a result. The NDP-Liberal agreement includes an ominous line about phasing out public financing for Canada's energy sector. This is music to Putin's ears. Will the NDP-Liberal government support the expansion of Canada's ethical and environmentally responsible energy so it can replace Putin's oil and gas around the world?

Ukraine  Mr. Speaker, the Putin regime's unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine has shocked millions of Canadians, including thousands in my riding who are of Ukrainian descent. Canadians now understand that the threat from Russia is no longer theoretical. They are resolute in their support for Ukraine and want Canada to do all we can to stop the Russian aggression and restore Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, that is an example of a failure of leadership. Legal experts, civil liberties organizations and many others are sounding the alarm, stating that emergency legislation should not be normalized, that it threatens our democracy and charter liberties. With the support of the NDP, the federal government is ordering financial institutions to freeze the bank accounts of Canadians who do not agree with it.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, I think I made it pretty clear why I am deeply concerned about the measures that are in this act that are going to seize and freeze the bank accounts of individuals who do not agree with the government, but to be equally clear, there is only one person who I believe bears the responsibility for what is happening in Ottawa, and that is the Prime Minister.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, I would have to say that I believe this is exactly what the Prime Minister would like parliamentarians to be doing here in the House. Instead of focusing on the overreach of invoking the Emergencies Act, he wants us to be arguing about whose fault it is that the protests lasted for as long as they did in the city of Ottawa.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, I would tell my hon. colleague that I absolutely disagree with the premise of that question. First we had a leader who resigned back in 2019, and in this most recent case we had adopted the Reform Act, which is a law of Parliament that provides members of Parliament with the tools they need to hold their leader accountable, so that is exactly what happened within the Conservative caucus.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, while it is a privilege to have the opportunity to rise and speak in this place to the motion put forward by the government, the absolute seriousness of these days and how we chart a path forward as a nation cannot be overstated. There is so much at stake. I am grateful for the insightful interventions that have already been put forward by my caucus colleagues.

Health  Mr. Speaker, the only thing this Prime Minister has made sure of is that he has politicized this pandemic and divided Canadians at a time when we should be working together and supporting one another. His lack of leadership has divided, stigmatized and traumatized Canadians. Provincial premiers are leading the way, giving hope and confidence and rebuilding trust in leadership.

COVID-19 Emergency Measures Timeline  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Premier Scott Moe for being the first Canadian leader to announce the end of vaccine mandates. Today in Saskatchewan, anyone who wants to will be able to go to a restaurant and celebrate Valentine's Day with their loved ones, with no proof of vaccination required.