Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for the Bay of Quinte. It will probably be sometime after 3 o'clock today before he gets his chance. I have been looking forward to the opportunity to speak to budget 2017, because it marks a remarkable new step forward in a lot of communities across Canada, including mine in Fleetwood--Port Kells, my city of Surrey, and Metro Vancouver.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1  Madam Speaker, let us do a reality check. The Conservatives were in very good shape to withstand what happened in 2008-09, and members know where I am going on this, because they were left a pretty healthy balance sheet by successive surpluses. That is okay. In addition, the problem is that Mr.

Vimy Ridge  Mr. Speaker, 100 years ago this Sunday, 100,000 Canadians went over the top in our historic victory at Vimy Ridge. A rolling artillery barrage advanced in front of our troops, pinning the enemy down in their shelters until it was practically too late for them to emerge. We took Vimy Ridge, and although the casualties were horrendous, our innovative military strategy spared lives on both sides.

Operation UNIFIER  Mr. Chair, I wonder if the hon. member would care to comment on what the missed opportunity might have been with the $11 billion in lapsed funding that the defence department turned back to the federal treasury in 2015, or perhaps the $1.13 billion that Veterans Affairs turned back over to the treasury in the years leading up to 2014.

National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act  Mr. Speaker, it has been interesting to hear the comments and concerns about the lack of transparency of this new committee and yet the party on this side would have the minority of the people on it. Perhaps because the appointments would be made by the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister would have some enormous power that would actually neuter the voices of those sitting in the opposition preventing them from raising issues as they saw them come up, especially about the process, especially about the transparency.

Youth Councils  Mr. Speaker, when our minister responsible for youth launched the concept of riding-based youth councils, he unleashed an incredible force that is energizing communities right across Canada. Our youth council in Fleetwood—Port Kells is a team of overachievers. I will bet we can say that about most of these councils.

Tax Convention and Arrangement Implementation Act, 2016  Madam Speaker, the issue of tax treaties is interesting and actually hits close to home for me, because my wife gets an income from another country, with which we have a tax treaty. One of the issues that comes up, though, is the difference between employment income and pension income.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, in reaction to the hon. member's comments, as a member of Parliament from British Columbia, I have stuck my neck way out there and supported the decision by this government to allow the Kinder Morgan and Line 3 pipelines to go ahead. I also support our decision not to build the Enbridge line.

Encounters With Canada  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate North Surrey Secondary School in my riding of Fleetwood—Port Kells for its participation in the Encounters With Canada program. For the last 34 years, Encounters With Canada has given over 105,000 young people from across the country a unique opportunity to meet, share ideas, talk about careers, and get a closer look at our national institutions.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, very clearly, a lot of homework went into that presentation on a lot of well thought-out issues. However, I want to explore the investor protection provisions. If I go to some place and invest my money to build a plant and hire people, and then all of a sudden that jurisdiction changes the rules after I have made the commitment, I would ask the hon. member whether she does not agree that there should be some provision to protect me and the investment I have made, which could have gone someplace else in the world, against someone changing the rules in the middle of the game.

Canadian Human Rights Act  Mr. Speaker, it is troubling to know that it has taken so long to bring this matter through the House. It comes, coincidentally, with something an old friend of ours from Fleetwood—Port Kells, Bob Ibrahim, shared this morning, “This world of ours...must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.”

Human Rights  Mr Speaker, many of us are concerned by what looks like a spike in the number and severity of incidents targeting Canadian minorities with messages of exclusion, fear, and hate. Perhaps there have not been many. Perhaps recent events have amplified our sensitivity, but one is too many, and on this issue, it is never a bad time to be sensitive.

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, the answer is yes. It brings to mind, actually, that old story about when the best time to plant an apple tree is. The first best time is 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Had we taken this measure 20 years ago, we would not have people in desperate shape today.

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, it is reasonable to suspect that this is not the only great thing that the government is going to do to enhance people's earnings, their income, the state of the economy, and the state of our social safety net in this country. This is just but one piece. Stay tuned, there is more to come.

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my friend's question. As a resident of British Columbia, he knows we have had a price on carbon for almost 10 years now. It was used to reduce personal income tax rates to the point that we have the lowest rates in the country and the strongest economy.