Ron Hanlon  Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the too-soon passing of Ron Hanlon, a champion for the great city of Halifax. As CEO of the Halifax Partnership, the city's economic development agency, he was a tireless promoter of our city's potential. His leadership on the creation of the Halifax economic growth plan has positioned our city to become what Haligonians know it can be: one of the world's great 21st century cities.

Elections Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, the NDP very admirably voted against the changes made in the previous government's Fair Elections Act. We would reverse those changes, and the NDP supports this. In fact, when discussing the reversal of the Fair Elections Act changes in The Hill Times, the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley said that “These are all important things”.

Elections Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, the pre-writ period changes we are envisioning, which run from June 30 until the writ is actually dropped, until the writ period proper, are intended to apply to political parties. These are changes to the Canada Elections Act and they do not impact government. That is where that matter stands.

Elections Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, the answer is a very simple “yes”. A number of measures within this very weighty bill are focused on the Canada Elections Act to help make election financing more transparent, to increase the access of eligible Canadians to the ballot box, and to in general allow Elections Canada to educate Canadian people on where, when, and how to vote.

Elections Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the need for greater participation in our democracy, we are not just talking about Conservative voters; we are talking about all Canadians. That is who needs to vote in our elections. I am sure that the member would have an interest in reducing the number of non-Conservative voters.

Elections Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to participate in the debate on this important bill, Bill C-76, the Elections Modernization Act. This legislation is about ensuring that we break the barriers Canadians have been facing in their efforts to participate in our democracy. It is a significant piece of legislation.

Elections Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, Bill C-76 is not an omnibus bill. “Omni” means pertaining to all things. That would be if a bill was about beef and veterans or about health and defence. This is about one thing only, and that is the Canada Elections Act. Members may recall that during the debate on the previous government's Fair Elections Act, the former Conservative member for Mississauga—Streetsville claimed that he had witnessed voter information cards being stolen from garbage cans and given to others to use to vote for fraudulent purposes.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, we are committed to strengthening Canada's democratic institutions and increasing Canadians' trust and participation in our democratic processes. Bill C-76 is a great example of that. The bill would increase the transparency of our electoral process. It would make elections more accessible to all Canadians.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the main challenge for our electoral democracy is not voter fraud but voter participation. Eliminating the voter ID card does not improve the integrity of the system. It only takes away the ability of many qualified voters to vote. In Bill C-76, we are not only restoring the use of voter identification cards and vouching, but we are also giving back the mandate for Elections Canada to promote participation.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, my home was built in 1892, so I know about these issues as well. The decision to invest heavily in Canadian infrastructure now is not just a good idea, which we know because it is working, but it is also a moral imperative. I already mentioned to another member in the House today about deferring investment into the state of infrastructure in Canadian communities to which the FCM is giving a failing grade.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I am going to choose to answer the first question, if that suits the member. When the budget is balanced, it will not be on the backs of veterans. It will not be on the backs of families nor on the backs of our service men and women. It will not be on the backs of people who provide health support to our communities.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, there are many ways to judge the quality of a bill, but I do not believe that it being long or short in length is one of them. The way we measure the impact of the bill is not by its size, but by its impact on the lives of Canadians every day. What we have clear evidence of, two and a half years into this government and after the three budgets we have presented, is that our bills of any size are having an enormous impact on Canadians.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to help the House advance its understanding of budget 2018. As the third budget our government has introduced, budget 2018 outlines our government's next steps to advance the mandate given to us by Canadians so thunderously in 2015. We were sent to Ottawa on a promise to grow the economy, support Canada's middle class and the vulnerable, and to build a more inclusive, prosperous nation for all.

Shakespeare by the Sea  I stand before the House to call On members, and good folk of our city, To celebrate twenty-five years in all Of Shakespeare by the Sea theatre company. In a battery at Point Pleasant Park On Canada Day, the curtain first rose, A tradition began, and left its mark And shapes a fame which annually grows.

Privacy  Mr. Speaker, our government takes its fundamental responsibilities to protect the private information of Canadian citizens and the integrity of our electoral system extremely seriously, which is why we engaged the Communications Security Establishment to conduct the first-ever threat assessment of Canadian democratic processes.