Ongoing Situation in Ukraine  Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the hon. member for running ads that said that the hon. parliamentary secretary supports free democratic elections. I can probe the question of the budget for humanitarian assistance in Canada. We just received the budget. It does not give us a total for what development assistance is available in 2015.

Ongoing Situation in Ukraine  Mr. Chair, despite the fact that it is clear that Putin's aggression is illegal, there are complexities to this issue that former USSR leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, brought up in terms of the historical context, the rapid breakup of the former Soviet Union, the failure of perestroika, and his call that we not use rhetoric that fans flames of disunity and disharmony.

Ongoing Situation in Ukraine  Mr. Chair, while the context of this debate is that there is great unanimity around this chamber, the Government of Canada has taken a number of unprecedented steps in aiding Ukraine, none of which has come before Parliament for debate. One was providing the RADARSAT-2 data to Ukraine.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I want to raise something that troubles me about this budget. Unfortunately, I was not able to present a full speech on the 2015 budget due to the difficulty of finding a speaking slot that did not interfere with the national Holocaust remembrance. Had I had the opportunity, what I wanted to say was that we have lost track of a fundamental principle of parliamentary democracy, which is that Parliament must control the public purse.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present two petitions. The first is primarily from residents of Saanich—Gulf Islands, although it is also signed by some residents of Victoria and Edmonton. The petitioners are calling for urgent action from the House of Commons to prevent the extinction of the southern resident killer whale populations of the Salish Sea.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from over 1,343 petitioners from many provinces, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario, calling on this House to reject the anti-democratic and anti-constitutional Bill C-51. I hope the petitioners will be well-received on this critical issue.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the budget is extraordinary for what is left out. I want to mention something so that Canadians will know, because I continue to be astonished by what has been left out of the budgets over the last number of years. They do not contain what I used to regard as the nuts and bolts of a budget.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, perhaps this is a question that should more properly go to the finance minister but I have not had a chance to put a question to the finance minister yet. We could have balanced the budget last year had the minister been willing to go into the contingency fund. The balanced budget this year is because the finance minister went into the contingency fund.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions. The first petition relates to the bill currently before this House, Bill C-51. Petitioners from Saanich—Gulf Islands as well as Whitehorse and Mississauga wish this House to reject Bill C-51 as a dangerous bill that intrudes on constitutional rights.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from residents of Saanich—Gulf Islands who are concerned about the proposal for what is described as the northern gateway pipeline. The petitioners call on this House to ensure that support for this project from the Conservative administration be withdrawn.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I heard my colleague from Kitchener—Conestoga say that he thought this motion said that the opposition party that put it forward and the opposition member actually opposed government advertising to tell Canadians about programs. As I read the motion it is quite clearly saying a third party review would ensure only advertising in future by other parties and other administrations, with which my hon. friend may not be quite as friendly.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I really do not think there is anything that any member in this place, in the Conservative ranks or in the opposition, can find fault with in the proposal to have a third party review of whether taxpayers are getting value for money and whether ads are actually telling Canadians about things they need to hear versus what we see far too often.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions today. The first petition is from residents of North Vancouver who are writing that this House should consider and take action on the attempt to defraud voters in the 2011 election. I think this becomes only more urgent as we approach the 2015 election.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from residents of British Columbia, particularly the Kootenay region, as well as from Thunder Bay, Ontario, asking this House to reject Bill C-51, the so-called anti-terrorism bill.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more with some of the comments about why the Canadian government is spending public funds to promote the oil industry in the United States. It is not as though it is a hardship case. It is a multi-billion dollar profit centre. We are spending money on ads for them, but in Canada as well, targeted to us in British Columbia.