Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, as usual, when the Conservatives speak in the House, we only get half of the story. The reality of the situation is that although the members opposite would like to paint a picture of Canadians paying higher taxes, what they always forget to mention when they talk about that is the increase in money that people are receiving through the Canada child benefit.

Budget Implementation Act, 2018 No. 2  Madam Speaker, I want to thank the parliamentary secretary for engaging in this very important debate and highlighting how important this particular budget is. It addresses a number of key issues, such as pay equity. Equally important is what the parliamentary secretary brought up toward the end, and that is putting a price on pollution.

Elections Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for laying out the facts and putting them on the table. The reality is that the bill was held up at committee. It was filibustered by the Conservatives. When it came to the House yesterday, we had 178 amendments read one-by-one, which wasted another hour and 15 minutes.

Officers of Parliament  Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate in response to the motion by the member for Hamilton Centre and to speak about our government's commitment of the highest standards of openness and transparency. In February 2016, this government took steps to put in place a more rigorous approach to Governor in Council appointments, an approach that is founded on the principles of openness, transparency and merit.

Officers of Parliament  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Hamilton Centre for bringing forward his motion and for his extremely passionate speech. I have not had the opportunity to really talk to him outside of this place. However, my father who spent some time in the Ontario legislature with him spoke fondly of his passion and the speeches he would give.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  Madam Speaker, earlier in my colleague's speech he quoted the vice-president of the union. I will also provide him with a quote from May 2014, when the Conservatives were in government. Global News quoted the national president for the same union, Kevin Grabowsky, who said, “The violence is on the rise and it's a big concern for, certainly, correctional officers.”

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  Madam Speaker, while my colleague was minister of public safety he promoted and was very comfortable with the widespread use of double-bunking, which not only led to unsafe conditions for inmates, but was widely opposed by prison guards throughout the correctional system. I am leery to take his position, particularly when it comes to an issue like this.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  Madam Speaker, the member from Burlington mentioned that segregated individuals would go from two hours to four hours of human contact during the day. The opposition would like to paint that as our being soft on crime. However, the reality of the situation is that we are going to help people become better people so they can be properly rehabilitated and integrated into society.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  Madam Speaker, the member is passionate about this subject, knows it well, and provides a great insight into it. What this really comes down to is making sure that we can eliminate as much as possible that revolving door of people coming in and out of prison. The way that we can do that is by making sure that the system we have is one that promotes rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

Ontario Municipal Elections  Mr. Speaker, today I am honoured to stand and recognize all those who ran in the Ontario municipal elections yesterday. I congratulate not just those who won but everyone who put their name forward to make our cities and towns better places to live. I also thank those who volunteered and helped out.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  Mr. Speaker, I regret that it is unlikely that we will find a compromise on this issue given the fact that Liberals do not believe in the Conservative ideology around prisons and locking offenders up and throwing away the key, as if that somehow were going to resolve the problems we have.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I can only imagine the alarm-and-panic button that was sounded earlier this afternoon when the whip's office on the other side of the House discovered that we would be voting in favour of this motion. The Conservatives would have had to run around changing all their talking points, which they are clearly doing now.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  Mr. Speaker, I will start by saying that I am very familiar with the Elizabeth Fry Society and the John Howard Society. I visited them when I was mayor of Kingston, in addition to visiting many other facilities. I saw the tremendous work they do helping inmates to reintegrate into our communities.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  Mr. Speaker, it is important because Liberals believe in reintegration and successful rehabilitation of inmates. We believe that the vast majority of people who go into a facility can be properly rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. However, the most important thing is to give the necessary tools to those who are rehabilitating our inmates so they can be successful at the rehabilitative process.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  Mr. Speaker, there is always a certain degree of consultation that goes on in the preparation of a bill, but the bulk of the consultation comes through a bill going to a committee and a committee doing its work, talking to the stakeholders, reporting back to the House and then going through the same process in the Senate.