Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, similar to my colleague from Oakville, I completely agree. Why would we want to legalize another drug that could just put children at risk? Our government has been very clear. We do not support making access to illegal drugs easier. This Conservative government will focus on making sure children do not have access to smoking marijuana, unlike the opposition members who seem to want to put children at risk through this process.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear. Marijuana is bad for kids, and that is why I am standing here making sure that children are protected. We know what the medical effects are when, as I mentioned in my speech, children have short-term or long-term exposure to this drug. We know the health effects can be long lasting, impacting their concentration or developing terrible mental health diseases that impact the rest of their lives.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to rise in the House today to speak about the serious health risks of marijuana. I will be splitting my time with the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville. The health committee's report largely confirmed what members of the House already know.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled “Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment” done at Geneva on 26 June, 1973. An explanatory memorandum is included with the treaty.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, as has already been said in the House, this government is focused on lowering taxes. We have gone from 7% to 6% to 5% on the GST. The opposition voted against that. Our focus is on making sure that taxes are lower on Canadian families, particularly on Canadian women.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, if the NDP were serious about supporting families, they would support our budget and lower taxes. We have been very focused on making sure that Canadians all experience lower taxes. The GST went from 7% to 6% to 5%. That is making sure that we have lower taxes. In fact, they are the lowest they have been in 50 years in Canadian history.

Labour  Mr. Speaker, if the opposition had read the bill then it would know that we are actually taking and amending the Canada Labour Code to ensure that interns under federal jurisdiction, regardless of pay, would receive health and occupational safety coverage. That is what we are actually doing.

Labour  Mr. Speaker, as I just said, and I encourage the members opposite to please read the bill, we are amending the Canada Labour Code to ensure that occupational health and safety would be covered under the budget implementation act. I would be happy to walk the members through those changes so that they understand exactly what we are doing.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government has been very focused over the last nine years on lowering taxes, unlike the opposition, which would like to raise one's taxes. As a result of this, we have the lowest tax burden on Canadians in 50 years. In fact, this year Canadians will $6,600 more back in their pockets because we have lowered taxes.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, our government supported the motion. We have been the government that lowered the GST from 7%, to 6%, to 5%, lowering taxes on Canadians, which is something the opposition voted against. In fact, this government has lowered taxes over 160 times since we have been put in office, which are things that the opposition, again, has voted against.

Status of Women committee  Thank you.

Status of Women committee  This has been a focal point for the Government of Canada and, quite frankly, for me personally. As a pediatric surgeon, the concept that any human right of a child would be violated is abhorrent. Canada itself has strongly condemned child, early, and forced marriages as a violation of basic human rights, and as a form of violence against girls in particular.

Status of Women committee  Okay.

Status of Women committee  I think what we're trying to do at Status of Women in Canada is move the bar to provide excellent opportunities for women across the country. Part of that is economic advancement, and part of that is making sure that women's rights are respected and, therefore, we are focused on eliminating violence against women and girls.

Status of Women committee  Well, as I just said, the universal child care benefit actually benefits every single parent. Every mother in this country will receive that. So that's one. As I was going to mention, Status of Women Canada also augments and looks to programs that support making sure women can get great jobs.