Criminal Records Act  Madam Speaker, I support this bill. I think that there could be improvements, and I know that the Green Party requested some amendments, including expungement. We have a lot of people in this country who have criminal records based on simple possession. It has ruined a lot of good people's lives and opportunities, and it creates problems for people who want to cross the border.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions today. One is in favour of Bill C-350 and Bill C-240, which would amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to prohibit human trafficking in organs and people travelling to get organ transfers.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls upon the Government of Canada to cease incarceration of those who suffer from drug abuse and to begin rehabilitation of said victims back into society through treatment programs, as is done in Portugal.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to discuss an important issue for Nanaimo—Ladysmith. We have an affordable housing crisis in my constituency. Our region has had a rapid rise in home prices and rental costs. It is the inevitable consequence of skyrocketing house prices in Vancouver and people moving to the island.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, this is a crisis that did not develop overnight. This is the result of years of budget cuts and neglect. This is not something that is going to be fixed overnight. I appreciate what the hon. member has said about the actions that the government is taking, but what we need now is emergency measures.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it my honour to present two petitions. The first petition is an electronic petition with 9,676 signatures. The petitioners are calling for a national plastic strategy, which includes an education and public awareness campaign highlighting the scope and impact of global plastic pollution; a ban on the manufacturing, distribution and use of all plastics that cannot be recycled; a ban on all single-use plastics that are hard to recycle and most often end up in landfills and waterways; a commitment to encourage a circular plastics economy by keeping recyclable plastics out of landfills and instead reusing them in a closed-loop system, effectively saving billions in manufacturing costs while producing less water waste; a commitment to invest in the infrastructure on a municipal, provincial and federal level to collect, sort, process, recycle and reuse all plastic packaging; and a zero plastic waste Canada by 2030 by ensuring all plastic packaging is 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition is for Veterans Affairs Canada. The petitioners call upon the Minister of Veterans Affairs to remove any statutory limits on back pay eligibility for the disability allowance, and work with individual veterans to achieve just and due compensation for the disability allowance in a timely manner.

Pharmacare  Mr. Speaker, my constituents in Nanaimo—Ladysmith are having an increasingly difficult time paying the rising costs of pharmaceutical drugs. It is clear that it is beyond time to implement a universal pharmacare program. The new NAFTA includes provisions that extend patents on drugs from eight years to 10 years and will keep the cost of drugs high for consumers longer.

Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed to see we have time allocation on a budget omnibus bill that has things in it that I do not believe belong in it. We are seeing changes to the immigration act and changes that violate the agreements we have for international refugees. We are seeing the crisis in Mexico.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to present two petitions. The first petition calls upon the House of Commons to adopt a national poverty elimination strategy, thereby ensuring Canadians a suitable quality of life and opportunity to succeed.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition comes from youth, asking for more to be done to avert disastrous climate change. Young petitioners and those who care deeply about youth call upon the House of Commons to take meaningful steps to support the future of young Canadians and to fulfill Canada's obligation under the Paris agreement by adopting a detailed climate action strategy that includes science-based targets for greenhouse gas reduction, with a plan to meet them, including but not limited to eliminating fossil fuel subsidies; implementing a comprehensive and steadily rising national carbon price beyond 2022 that rises to $150 a tonne by 2030; and redirecting investments into renewable energy systems, energy efficiency, low-carbon transportation and job training.

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, the Green Party agrees to apply and will be voting yes.

Petitions  Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition that calls upon the House of Commons to enact legislation and policies that would promote pay equity and pay equality so that women in Canada get the equal treatment they deserve.

Accessible Canada Act  Madam Speaker, it is an honour for me to speak in favour of the bill, the proposed accessibility Canada act. I ran in 2015. I was a filmmaker, and it kind of destroyed my business. However, I took a job after that with Nanaimo Foodshare, doing work with people with diverse abilities, as they like to say, rather than disabilities, and people with barriers to employment.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the member regarding the new Coast Guard vessels that were proposed on the weekend. We have a number of companies in Canada that are creating innovation and technology that is being implemented in Europe. We have a company called Hydrogenics, based out of Mississauga, that is working with the railway system in Europe to make hydrogen locomotives.