Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act  Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his sincerity on this issue. I know we are both very interested in and concerned about the climate issue. I also know that he is familiar with the call for not just an interim progress report, but also a 2025 milestone target. This is really important to hold the government accountable.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is something I touched on in my speech. In my former role as a mayor, we worked very hard with the province to put in place inter-community transit service, and we did so at a time when Greyhound still existed. While we gained a small step forward for northern communities along the Highway of Tears, we were left with a huge gap when Greyhound pulled out entirely.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the concerns of smaller airlines is something that I wish I had time in my speech to address more fully, because in many ways they have been left out of this entire debate, which has been dominated by the big carriers. We heard at committee from airlines like Air North, which have very specific concerns about the environment they operate in.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, of course, northernness is a bit of a state of mind and with the population so concentrated in the southern part of the country, we do not have to go many kilometres north before one is considered northern. The member raises a decent point about sovereignty. I would say the issue is more about the rural fabric of our country and supporting rural communities.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious issue that we in the NDP have spoken out about. The Commissioner of Competition was clear that the sale of Air Transat would result in a less competitive environment and higher prices for Canadian air travellers. We have seen the impacts of lack of competition in the air sector on smaller communities in Canada.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time this morning with the member for Courtenay Alberni. I am pleased to speak today to this opposition motion which calls, in part, on the government to provide assistance for the hard-hit airline sector in our country. This is a timely topic.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague touched on the issue of passenger refunds, and this is something that really concerns us. Other countries acted swiftly last spring to mandate the airlines to provide passenger refunds, but Canada did not. As a result, billions of dollars in passenger refunds have become a bargaining chip in the current negotiations between the government and the airlines.

Pharmacare  Mr. Speaker, hundreds of people have reached out to me over the past month and shared their struggles affording medication. They include Pam in Burns Lake whose son's expensive medication will not be covered once he graduates, or Valorie, a senior in Terrace who has to delay paying her basic bills in order to afford her diabetes drugs.

Aeronautics Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today to Bill C-225, introduced by the member for Jonquière. A similar bill, Bill C-392, was put forward by the Bloc in a previous Parliament by the member for Repentigny. Bill C-225 would amend seven acts to require infrastructure projects currently within federal jurisdiction to be subject to provincial laws and municipal bylaws concerning land use and environmental protection.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the member for Courtenay—Alberni, for his tireless advocacy. In his speech, he so articulately laid out the incredible impact of this pandemic on tourism operators. When I think of northwest B.C., I think of the steelhead guiding lodges in the Bulkley Valley, Haida Gwaii and the tour operators there, the cabin rentals and other small businesses that have been so dramatically hit by this crisis.

Committees of the House  There is a problem with the interpretation. The French and English are coming through at the same volume. I am not sure if other people are hearing that, but it has been doing that for a little while.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, tourism is certainly an important industry in northwest B.C. I have talked to so many tourism operators who have been harmed by the pandemic and are looking at potentially another lost tourism season, as we have already heard. I am curious about his comments on looking for certainty, though, because there is so much that is not known about the future of the pandemic.

Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020  Madam Speaker, there is much in the hon. member's speech that I agree with. She spoke to the needs of tourism operators in her region and the fact that the current support programs have not necessarily met their unique needs. This speaks very closely to the situation in northwest B.C., where so many tourism operators in places like Haida Gwaii have lost an entire tourism business season and stand to lose another one.

Air Transportation  Madam Speaker, Air Canada says there will be no passenger refunds without a bailout. The government says there will be no bailout without refunds. We are a year into this pandemic, and somehow the government has allowed billions of dollars of air passengers' own money to become a bargaining chip in negotiations.

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act  Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to my hon. colleague's remarks. I have a lot of questions, and I know I only have a short time to ask them. The member spent a lot of time speaking about this conflation between the concept of consent and the concept of a veto, which has been spoken to at length by legal experts and dozens of witnesses at committee.