An Act to Provide Further Support in Response to COVID-19  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her important question. We have included additional supports for self-employed workers, on top of past investments. It was difficult at the outset to address all the issues involved in this particular situation. We now want to invest in art and culture, and we will certainly take care of self-employed workers to be there for them.

An Act to Provide Further Support in Response to COVID-19  Madam Speaker, before I begin my speech, I would like to let members know that I will be sharing my time with the member for Mississauga—Erin Mills. It gives me great pleasure to speak in the House again today and thank the people of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook for re-electing me for a third mandate.

Order Respecting the Business of the House and its Committees  Madam Speaker, once again I want to thank my colleague for her question and comments. She needs to understand that the motion before us does not say it is forever. That is not how I read it. Like my colleague said earlier, I understand that it lasts until June 23, 2022. That is what the motion on the table says, and my speech reflects this motion.

Order Respecting the Business of the House and its Committees  Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's comments, and I want to congratulate her on getting re-elected. There is absolutely nothing in this motion that says that she cannot come to the House if she wants to. She has the right to come here every day. What is important is that she can do her work here when she has to be here, and if something really important comes up in her riding that she is involved in, then she can be there to help promote projects that are important to her constituents.

Order Respecting the Business of the House and its Committees  Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Nova Scotia for being elected to the House of Commons. As he knows, we represent people and communities. It is our responsibility no matter where we live to support them. I congratulate him for being here. I know my poor colleague was not here in the last six years, when the party across the floor refused to listen to science.

Order Respecting the Business of the House and its Committees  Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to stand in the 44th Parliament to once again represent the great people of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook. That is in Nova Scotia, of course. I want to thank them for electing me for a third time and giving me the privilege of continuing to represent them, speak on their behalf and advocate for them and all of the communities in my riding.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is with immense pride that I table a petition calling for the Black Culture Centre for Nova Scotia, the first and largest museum dedicated to Black history and African Nova Scotian legacy in Canada, to be designated as Canada's “National Black Cultural Centre and Museum”.

Veterans Affairs  Madam Speaker, ensuring that our veterans and their families have the mental health support they need is our absolute top priority. I have directed my department to demonstrate maximum flexibility in addressing the urgent mental health needs for veterans and their families. Budget 2021 provides $140 million to cover mental health costs for veterans while they are waiting for their disability benefits application to be processed.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his work at the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. We have a good working relationship. As I said in my speech, Quebec is already a nation within Canada. We recognize that and we will continue to work to ensure that the inspiration of Quebeckers continues to develop within Canada.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, my colleague has three very important questions. I wish I had a crystal ball, so I could answer those questions as well as I would like to. I know our government has been working very closely with the members of the Saint-Jean university and the community. We have had several meetings, which I know the members of Parliament from the region have been involved in.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and comments. As I mentioned in my speech, Quebec has always been there for francophone minorities across Canada. That is very important, and we have always been very appreciative. We worked closely with him in several areas.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to the motion moved by the Bloc Québécois. I will be sharing my time with the member for Hochelaga. In my speech, I will be talking about who I am and where I come from. I will, of course, also talk about the Conservatives' record, our successes as a government, the Bloc's motion and the plan to modernize the Official Languages Act.

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, as an Acadian and former educator in minority language communities, I am very proud of our government's efforts since 2015 in the area of official languages to advance linguistic duality. We reinstated the court challenges program, re-established the Translation Bureau as a centre of excellence, signed the very first strategic education agreement, revised the federal government's regulations on bilingual services to the public, after which more than 600 additional offices were designated bilingual, and added questions to the 2021 census to reach all classes of rights holders.

Veterans Affairs  Madam Speaker, the government has undertaken to ensure that surviving spouses of veterans who got married after age 60 receive the support they need when they lose their partner. Once the research into this population is properly analyzed, the government will use the results to inform how best to support these individuals.

Veterans Affairs  Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the MP for North Island—Powell River, for her excellent work on the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, on which I serve as well. I am pleased to present the government's response today. Let me note that the well-being of Canadian veterans and their families is a top priority for our government.