Woodroffe High School  Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak about a group of students at Woodroffe High School who are working to make their school eco-certified through a project called Tiger Woodz pure paper bricks. Led by Samuel Gauzas, students in the general learning program use recycled paper and water supplied by the school to make bricks that sell for two for $5.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Special Committee on Pay Equity, entitled “It's Time to Act”.

ALS Awareness Month  Mr. Speaker, today is the start of ALS awareness month. ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, does not have a cure nor an effective treatment. In Canada, up to 3,000 people are living with ALS, and about one-third of them will succumb to the disease, this year. Last year, the ice bucket challenge raised $15 million for ALS research, but we need to do more.

Candidate Gender Equity Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the hon. member for Burnaby South on bringing forward Bill C-237, the candidate gender equity act, and initiating a very important conversation about how to achieve gender parity in politics in Canada. Having spent much of my professional career working with women around the world, I have studied best practices in how to increase women's representation in parliaments.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member talked about spending, but Canadians know the difference between spending and investment. When we invest in Canadians, we create growth in the economy. In fact, just this week the Governor of the Bank of Canada said that our budget would have a positive impact on growth.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, since being elected, this is probably the number one issue I am getting calls about in my constituency office. There are heartbreaking stories of mothers leaving their children behind to come to Canada. They have to make terrible choices. That is a legacy of the cuts that were made over the last 10 years.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague. It is true that there are a lot of investments in the national capital. They are not just in public transit, but those investments are very important, especially for Ottawa's LRT. There are also funds for SMEs. That is very important for our local economy and our public services.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, in the case I was referring to was just the average of the families. My colleague might be referring to who we consider middle class Canadians. The middle-class tax cut applies to the tax bracket between $45,000 and $90,000. In terms of just simple math, those are the people we would be referring to.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Laurentides—Labelle. I am very pleased today to speak in support of budget 2016. This is a budget that invests in Canadians; it invests in people. The greatest assets in any democratic country are the combined knowledge, experiences, ideas, and creativity of the people.

Algonquin College  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have Algonquin College in my riding. It is a leading global educational institution with over 20,000 full-time students. As just one among the many innovative programs, the Algonquin College Construction Research Centre is a hub of local applied research and innovation.

International Women's Day  Mr. Speaker, on this International Women's Day, I want to pay tribute to all of those courageous women around the world and in Canada who have inspired me: the women I knew in Congo, who were beaten by police and undressed in the street for peacefully demonstrating for their right to fair elections; Flora Terah, in Kenya, whose only son was murdered because she had the audacity to run for parliament; the indigenous women in Mexico, who fought successfully for the right to stand for municipal council; Saadia, in my riding, who worked for 17 years in a family shelter, giving hope to victims of domestic violence; and the families of the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

Canadian Heritage  Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday, the Minister of Canadian Heritage attended the groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the renovation of the National Arts Centre. Can the minister explain how this investment will benefit Canada's arts and culture sector?

Canadian Heritage  Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, residents of my riding often objected to the process used by the previous government to impose the location of the memorial to the victims of Communism. Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage provide this House with an update on the status of that memorial and public consultations?

Community Leadership  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate three of my constituents who were honoured for promoting equality and diversity in my riding of Ottawa West—Nepean. I would like to congratulate Sharmaarke Abdullahi, who received the Black History Month Community Builder Award for his work in creating opportunities for young people from diverse backgrounds.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is true that in many areas Canada is a leader in the world on gender and equality. However, this particular area is one where Canada is falling behind. Out of 34 countries in the OECD, there are only 7 that are doing worse than us. We are number 29 in the OECD. This is amongst developed countries.