Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, the #metoo campaign continues to shed light on the magnitude of sexual assault and sexual harassment. A Canada-wide student group gives Canadian universities a C- for their campus sexual assault policies. There are no guidelines to accompany the policies. There needs to be national coordination by the government in order to prevent sexual assault at our universities.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in power and were negotiating a new softwood lumber agreement, 42,000 jobs were lost in Quebec alone, including 100 jobs in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. During their reign, the Conservatives spent a lot more time talking about the oil and gas industry than about how important the forestry industry is.

Business of Supply  I thank the minister for his speech, Mr. Speaker. I do not know whether he is aware that, in the Lac-Saint-Jean region alone, one of Canada’s 200 rural regions that rely on forestry, 12,000 jobs are at stake because of a dishonest government that was unable to negotiate a deal to protect our jobs in the forestry sector.

Pensions  Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are truly pitiful. During the election campaign, the Liberals promised to amend our inadequate bankruptcy laws to put an end to pension theft. Two years later, they have yet to do anything. If they had acted more quickly, they could have protected Sears workers and pensioners.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, since taking office, the Liberals have met with the first ministers four times in two years. I commend them for that, and I encourage them to keep it up. What we are asking is that they continue to negotiate with the provinces. I think that would be good for everyone.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the Conservative member thinks that the 20% of Canadians who do not have access to medications because they cannot pay for them represent a small percentage. One in five people cannot meet their own health needs. That is serious and the result of the federal government's inability to establish a universal pharmacare program.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to rise here today to support the motion by my colleague from Vancouver Kingsway to give all Canadians access to universal pharmacare. This would be tremendously beneficial, not only for public health, but also for public finances. The NDP has been working towards this goal for at least 50 years in order to improve our society, protect our poorest and most vulnerable citizens, and promote solidarity and health across the country.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, speaking of the environment, this is the 25th time I have risen in the House to get information about the wreck of the Kathryn Spirit, information that is still not being supplied regularly. Bidding for the contract to dismantle the Kathryn Spirit closed over two weeks ago, but neither the mayor of Beauharnois nor I have been updated on the process.

Marijuana  Mr. Speaker, the Liberals plan to legalize marijuana next summer, but they do not plan to pardon people convicted of simple possession in the past. That means that many Canadians will have serious problems finding work and crossing the border for the rest of their lives. What is more, the Liberals are retaining Stephen Harper's policies, which make criminal records difficult to erase.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I think that everyone here will agree to creating a fairer and more equitable tax system for everyone, and to not target only SMEs and the entrepreneurs that drive our local economies across Canada. The NDP has proposed extending the scope of this study to include CEOs, multinationals and a study of tax havens.

Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, Canada has committed to protecting 10% of its oceans by 2020, including 5% by 2017. However, to date, we have only protected 1.5% of marine areas. In light of this information, does my colleague not think that this bill should go further? There are not even any minimum standards for creating protected areas and protecting biodiversity.

Canada Revenue Agency  Madam Speaker, it takes so long for the Canada Revenue Agency to deal with files, that families in my riding are losing up to six or seven months of benefits before receiving anything. That is completely unacceptable. These families are already struggling to make ends meet, and the CRA is making things worse for them.

Bougaricci Clothing  Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise in recognition of the tremendous work being done by fashion designer Bougaricci. At 41 years of age, Marc Lessard traded his construction career for sewing machines and decided to set up shop in his hometown. He took a chance on making Valleyfield a fashion mecca, just like Milan.

Oceans Act  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. She is so passionate about protecting our oceans. Sadly, Canada is doing next to nothing to protect our marine areas. With less than 1.5% of our waters protected now, the government says it wants to protect 30% by 2020. That is unthinkable.

Health  Mr. Speaker, the dream of a public health care system has not yet been been fully realized in Canada, but it is well within our reach. The parliamentary budget officer's report clearly shows that we can reduce the cost of prescription drugs with a national pharmacare program and save billions of dollars.