COVID-19 Emergency Response  Mr. Speaker, small businesses have suffered across Canada. Industry experts say that 60% of restaurants may fail by the end of the year. The Liberals knew that their failed rent subsidy and flawed wage subsidy programs were coming to an end this fall, yet they chose to prorogue the House in August and failed to prepare the necessary legislation when Parliament reopened.

COVID-19 Emergency Response  Mr. Speaker, it is coming weeks too late for some businesses. Last Sunday, rent was due for thousands of Canadian small businesses struggling with higher costs and fewer customers. The government has known for months that its rent assistance program was a disaster and that it was ending in September.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member said quite a number of things that were, only by extension maybe, connected to the motion, which did have three specific points to it. I would ask the member if she thinks that now, while small businesses are in an absolute fight for survival and are hanging on by a thread, is the appropriate time for onerous audits on the wage subsidy and if she sees how small businesses could take this as an implication that the government considers them to be tax cheats.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, the member touched on many different areas with which I agree. I would like him to comment more on the timeliness of supports. The government spent the summer mired in conflict of interest scandals and then prorogued the House. When it came back in September, it did not have any legislation ready to go.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary spent a lot of his speech talking about the need for support programs. No one is disputing that need. That is understood by everyone in the House. The motion deals with how the government has approached these programs and the needs of small businesses.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, the member raises a good point. The former program failed small businesses. I do not know how many businesses have actually failed over the spring and summer or how many may be on the verge of failing because of the failure of that program. He raises a valid point and I hope the government will listen to opposition MPs and create the best program it can for small business owners.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, the first thing the government can do is to stop treating small business owners like tax cheaters; to stop auditing them, to stop asking for onerous documentation while they are in survival mode and trying to cope with the pandemic and actually survive. It would be a welcome relief to small business owners to be shown some respect from the government that has treated them so poorly over the years.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I am not going to talk about political parties today. I am here to talk about workers in small businesses. Small business workers need to be able to keep their jobs and to be able to remain in their jobs. This was a failure of these programs in that the emergency response benefit was greatly oversubscribed at a time when the wage subsidy was under-subscribed.

Business of Supply  moved: That, given that the pandemic has had devastating consequences on Canadian workers and businesses, especially in the restaurant, hospitality and tourism sectors, the House call on the government to: (a) immediately pause the audits of small businesses that received the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy until at least June 2021; and (b) provide additional flexibility in the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, and other support program.

Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999  Madam Speaker, I really enjoyed the speech from the member for York—Simcoe. In my province there is a great need to diversify the economy, which has been so heavily damaged by the policies of the current government among—

Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999  It is true. However, the nascent plastics industry that is developing and trying to take root in my province, to help provide employment opportunities and to take the best, most efficient and most ethical advantage of the resources we have, has been under attack by the government.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the member's speech. I wonder if he would comment on some of the concerns that have been raised both here in debate and outside. As legislators, we have a responsibility to try and create the best legislation we can. Would he be open to amendment at committee to make this bill stronger, better and improve upon and clarify the definition to ensure that many of the concerns some people have raised about the bill can be very clearly dealt with so we can ensure we meet the objective of the bill, which is to ensure the horrible practice of conversion therapy not legally occur in Canada?

Small Business  Mr. Speaker, the government has consistently failed small businesses by attacking them with draconian tax changes, calling them cheaters, designing aid programs that have not reached struggling small businesses and bungling the availability of rapid testing, which small businesses need for recovery.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, the member touched on part of my question, so I will let him continue. I completely support what the bill says that it would do and the remarks from the minister this morning. However, I would like the member to comment further on the suggestion by the member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Bow River makes a great point, and I did touch on the review in my speech. The committee hearing on the bill is not a substitute for the fulsome review that was promised in Bill C-14. I am concerned about the rushed timeline, and I identified in my remarks that for the bill to be fully supported at third reading, things must be done properly.