National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Louis-Hébert. I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to Bill C-22, a piece of legislation that would bring overdue changes to our country's approach to national security and put the lie to, once and for all, the idea that we need to make a choice between the desire to keep Canadians safe and the desire to safeguard the rights and freedoms that all Canadians cherish.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, access to affordable housing is a problem for many Canadians. In Scarborough Centre, one in three people are spending 30% or more of their income on housing compared to the national average of one in five. The lack of affordable housing is especially challenging for seniors trying to make ends meet on fixed incomes.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I totally agree with my hon. colleague. I represent the riding of Scarborough Centre, which faces infrastructure debt for transit and affordable housing. It is not only an economic issue, but it is a social issue. Families cannot get back home in time to sit down and help their kids, or help their parents and look after them, because a lot of time is spent in Toronto on the roads.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, right now Canada is going through an infrastructure debt. We cannot pass that debt on to our future generations. It is time to invest now, not tomorrow, but today. The interest rates are low and we need to invest in our economy. That is exactly what we are doing through our budget 2016.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, the member is right. In the budget, the government promised to monitor the economic situation after the budget, and, as a result, three other regions have been added. This is an evidence-based process, based on the data available. We will review the numbers, and wherever the help is needed, it will be extended.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, it is finally time for hard-working Canadians from coast to coast to coast to get a helping hand from their government. Middle-class Canadians have been ignored for too long. Today is a day of change and hope. That is why I rise to speak in favour of Bill C-15, Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1.

Ramadan  Mr. Speaker, today is the first day of Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and is a very blessed and revered month for Muslims all over the world. The word sawm, or fasting, is one of the five major pillars of Islam. Fasting is not just abstaining from eating and drinking from dusk to dawn.

International Development  Mr. Speaker, polio was a disease that ravished the world and was particularly devastating to children. The first vaccine was developed in the 1950s and many more countries have since been declared polio-free. However, Pakistan had 53 cases of polio in 2015, the highest for any country, and its persistence in Pakistan is the largest barrier to eradicating polio forever.

Tamil Heritage Month  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House today to speak to Motion No. 24, moved by my good friend and neighbour, the hon. member Scarborough—Rouge Park. I am pleased to support the motion, which in my opinion would do something that is very long overdue: recognize every January in Canada as Tamil heritage month.

Asian Heritage Month  Mr. Speaker, May is Asian Heritage Month. We can find Canadians of Asian heritage making a difference in communities from coast to coast to coast, including in my riding of Scarborough Centre, where more than one-third of residents are of Asian descent. The Asian community is a diverse one, including people of Chinese, Bangladeshi, Filipino, Pakistani, Tamil, and Indian heritage, and many more.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I am a strong advocate for free trade and a solid international economic presence. Given that approximately one in five jobs in Canada is export dependent, and that the NDP strongly supports the preservation and sustainability of Canadian jobs, I would like to ask the hon. member if he believes that Canada is a trading nation, and if so, whether he also agrees that we have a duty incumbent upon us to expand economic opportunities both domestically as well as internationally.

National Nursing Week  Mr. Speaker, during National Nursing Week, we honour the dedicated women and men who are there to care for us and our loved ones when we are most in need. There are many dedicated nurses in my riding of Scarborough Centre, but I would like to pay tribute to one outstanding nurse who is making a difference at Scarborough Hospital's mental health department, Kelly Brockington.

Outstanding Businesses Scarborough Centre  Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize two outstanding businesses in my riding of Scarborough Centre that have shown real leadership in welcoming Syrian refugees to Canada. David Andrews of 3-D Exteriors has already hired 11 Syrian refugees for his landscaping company. With spring finally here, he is ready to hire more.

Attack in Lahore  Mr. Speaker, on March 27, as families gathered to celebrate Easter in a park in Lahore, Pakistan, 75 people were killed and more than 340 wounded in a barbaric act of terror. As a mother and as an immigrant from Pakistan, my heart goes out to the families of the victims. Wherever we live, we should be free to worship how we choose and gather where we choose.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, our plan to strengthen the middle class and grow the economy would lead to a country where people who work hard can look forward to a good standard of living, a secure retirement, and better prospects for their children. Our Canada child benefit will lift 300,000 children out of poverty.