Black History Month  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be the member of Parliament for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, which includes, of course, the largest and oldest black community in Canada. The culture and history of African Nova Scotians is preserved and celebrated throughout my riding, as well as across Nova Scotia and Canada.

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, something tragic and unprecedented happened last summer: right whales died in the North Atlantic, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. To protect this endangered species, our government took swift action, imposing a mandatory 10-knot speed limit on 20-metre vessels in the gulf.

Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, before I ask my question, I would like to announce to the House that my wife and I became grandparents again this morning. My daughter Chantal and her husband Mathieu had a second child whom they have named Lucas, a little brother for my granddaughter Maëlle. I am very proud of that this morning.

Interparliamentary Delegations  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the delegation of the Canadian branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, APF, concerning its participation at the meeting of the APF Parliamentary Affairs Committee, held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from March 24 to 26, 2017.

Halifax Explosion  Mr. Speaker, today we stand in the warmth of this House, and my family in Nova Scotia lives in the warmth of our home. However, about 100 years ago today, the Halifax explosion left 6,000 people homeless, wandering through the wreckage in a major maritime blizzard. Nova Scotian students could tell us the history of when the SS Mont-Blanc collided with the SS Imo.

Access to Information Act  Mr. Speaker, that is an ironic question really, because the mandate letter the member is referring to does exist, and everyone in the House, as well as all other Canadians, knows what is in the mandate letters. However, when their prime minister gave his mandate letters to his ministers, peekaboo, no one knew what was in them, and so the ministers could do what they wanted to.

Access to Information Act  Mr. Speaker, if the member wants to change the tone, then I should change it as well and say that the NDP has talked and talked, but I do not know how we could answer to everything they request, because they are never satisfied. If we go 75% of the way, they still say 25%. If we go 125% they still say we could have done 25% more.

Access to Information Act  Mr. Speaker, again, these are open and transparent mandate letters that every Canadian is aware of. The Prime Minister's Office has to divulge information and the ministers' offices have to divulge information, as do judges. Everyone is responsible to answer to government, and everyone is responsible to answer to society.

Access to Information Act  Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Winnipeg North will share the time I have to speak today. As the member of Parliament for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, in Nova Scotia, my riding surrounds the two big cities of Halifax and Dartmouth. We find a very high percentage of veterans in my riding.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Sherbrooke for his speech. I have just one question. My colleague touched on a number of subjects, but he did not say a word about all of the good things in the budget. That really worries me when I think of the people in his riding and other ridings represented by opposition members.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  Madam Speaker, the member should look in the mirror, because he just used the word “investing”. Investment means investing in people. It means investing in infrastructure. It means investing in jobs. That is what it means, and that is what we are doing. He should ask himself how many young kids in his riding are receiving the Canada child benefit, the CCB.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  Madam Speaker, I would like to correct the record. Not only have we doubled the number of jobs, we have doubled the funding. Not only have we doubled the funding, we have put a process in place that will best meet the needs of people. The student going to university can still have 16 weeks.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's comments concerning his region. However, we have to look at this government if we really want to see change on carbon. The environment is one of our strong agendas. What is important is that we put in place a carbon tax. We are the ones working closely with the provinces to make a big change in that area.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to stand in the House today to speak on our budget 2017. It is exciting, to be quite honest. I am the member of Parliament for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, which is on the outskirts of Halifax and Dartmouth. Nova Scotia has the largest number per capita of veterans and military in the country, and my riding has 23%, the most in the province.

Sackville Community Food Garden  Mr. Speaker, the air is cooler, the leaves are changing colour, and fall has certainly arrived in Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook. To celebrate harvest time, community members in Lower Sackville gathered for the Acadia Park Garden festival on the weekend. There was a community BBQ, locally produced healthy snacks, and plant exchanges.