Extension of Sitting Hours  Mr. Speaker, what my colleague was talking about really got to the core of what this is about. This is about advancing not just the legislation that has been originally introduced in the House by the government, but also the work the committees have done along the way to shape, mould, and bring forward amendments to that work, and to see it eventually come back to the House so it can be deliberated and voted on prior to the end of the session we are in now.

Extension of Sitting Hours  Mr. Speaker, we heard in response to a question by a Liberal colleague of mine a few minutes ago that if opposition members do not get the answers they want, they are going to resort to banging on their desks. Those members have essentially reduced themselves to that. The reality of the situation is that the opposition tries to use tactics all the time, and that is the only reason closure is required.

Extension of Sitting Hours  Mr. Speaker, I would like to go back to the comment made by the member for Langley—Aldergrove about the Liberals being open to ideas that come forward in committee. I would like to share an idea with him. When I was on the environment committee, the member for Abbotsford brought forward a motion.

Federal Sustainable Development Act  Mr. Speaker, I just want to get back to where we are right now with this particular piece of legislation. We are talking about an amendment brought forward by the Conservative member for Abbotsford. However, the interesting thing is that he was the member of the committee who put forward the motion that he is now trying to remove with this amendment.

Labour  Mr. Speaker, launched in April, the ideas program was a commitment taken in Canada's defence policy “Strong, Secure, Engaged”. The program is designed to involve academics, industry, and innovators from throughout Canada in solving the security and defence challenges of today and tomorrow.

Federal Sustainable Development Act  Madam Speaker, my colleague really hit the nail on the head about halfway through his speech when he started to talk about the motive behind this particular amendment. I sat on the environment committee when we discussed this particular strategy and when the strategy was going through committee, and he is absolutely correct that it was the member for Abbotsford who brought forward this section of the legislation, for which he has now put forward an amendment in the House to delete.

Federal Sustainable Development Act  Madam Speaker, the question is about something that is completely unrelated to the bill. Nonetheless, I will take a stab at trying to answer it. When the minister has to make these extremely difficult decisions that no one wants to get involved in, she has to work with the infrastructure that has been built in the country today.

Federal Sustainable Development Act  Madam Speaker, I sat on the environment committee with the member for a couple of years, and I know she is extremely passionate about this. I heard her in debate during that time as well. The gist of my comments was about the advisory council, not only the shift to add more diverse representation to it but also the manner in which it members will be able to conduct themselves.

Federal Sustainable Development Act  Madam Speaker, that is the core principle underpinning sustainability, keeping the act in a sustainable fashion by continually going back to it, looking at it, and re-examining it to see how it can be changed. This is definitely the right approach, and I am proud to be part of a government that is choosing to move forward on it.

Federal Sustainable Development Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to speak about how our government's priorities and Bill C-57 align with the core principles underpinning the sustainable development goals and support the overarching philosophy of the 2030 agenda to leave no one behind. For Canada, leaving no one behind means that everyone can participate in, contribute to, and benefit from the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, being from a riding that has three post-secondary institutions, I have directly seen the impact that these research dollars have. Quite often, when we talk about these investments we do not fully value the economic benefit that we can get later on down the road from these investments.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I am pleased to have this opportunity to rise in the House to address the somewhat unique debate we are having this evening. I would like to take the opportunity to highlight one of the central initiatives in budgets introduced by this government, and that is the important role our government is playing in supporting innovation in Canada.

Elections Modernization Act  Madam Speaker, I think the debate we just heard really underscores why this legislation is so important. This discussion has turned into “My wallet is bigger than your wallet, so if you want something I'm going to fight against you to get that”, when really that is what we should be fighting against: getting the money out of politics.

Elections Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the debate all day. I have heard a lot coming from the other side of the House. We heard about the last election and how the voter turnout was huge. With respect to the opposition, perhaps the Canadian public was extremely disappointed with the previous government and as a result came out in droves.

Elections Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, when I heard the member opposite say “absolutely nothing” a couple of times, I was reminded of what the previous Conservative government had done to strengthen democracy in Canada, which was absolutely nothing. The member talked about the opportunity for third parties and money being generated by third parties.