Main Estimates, 2017-18  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise in response to the biographies offered by the member for Hastings—Lennox and Addington. That really is what it is. It is reading the biographies off the Senate website, word for word, in most cases. Certainly, there is wide latitude provided to members of the House to debate on different matters related to the main estimates.

Main Estimates, 2017-18  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I notice the member reading from a prepared document. He seems to be reading the Senate biographies from the other place. Perhaps we could speed this up and ask for unanimous consent to simply table the website from the senate of all Senate biographies and move things along and discuss issues that are actually relevant and matter to Canadians, such as those contained in the actual main estimates.

Main Estimates, 2017-18  Mr. Speaker, like my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton, I greatly enjoyed hearing the member read the Senate biographies from the Senate website into Hansard. That is always great and I appreciate in particular the member's commentary and glowing words for Senator Pratte. He is a new senator in the other place who is currently amending the budget bill in the other place, amending it to take the infrastructure bank out of the budget implementation act.

Main Estimates, 2017-18  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague the hon. member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix for her question. I also want to thank her for the work she does with me at the Standing Committee on Official Languages and for her good work on denouncing the appointment of a partisan Liberal to the position of commissioner of official languages.

Main Estimates, 2017-18  Mr. Speaker, I will take my direction from a Tim Hortons and a grocery store, not from the cocktail circuit like the members across the way, to paraphrase our new leader, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle. Let me remind the hon. member. He was not a member here, and neither was I, but it was under the strong stewardship of Joe Oliver, and before him, Jim Flaherty, that we saw a return to balanced budget under Prime Minister Harper a year early.

Main Estimates, 2017-18  Mr. Speaker, I can think of one. He did say he was going to do appointments differently. It is certainly different when he appoints a long-time Liberal donor to be an independent officer of this place. The member for Langley—Aldergrove serves as our opposition critic for seniors.

Main Estimates, 2017-18  Mr. Speaker, I can debate this issue all night long if the member for Malpeque wants to do so. He talked about having some semblance of reality. He cited a business investing in its future. Any business investing in its future would pay off its debts in order to survive and continue to be in business.

Main Estimates, 2017-18  Mr. Speaker, one thing is for sure. It will be much before 2055 that we will return the budget to balance. In fact, our leader has committed to two years from the time of the next election. I look forward to that time. Let us talk about the record of the former Conservative government.

Main Estimates, 2017-18  Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise this evening to debate the estimates process and the main estimates. Too often Canadians probably have their eyes glaze over, and I am sure some parliamentarians' eyes glaze over when we talk about the estimates. The estimates are the foundational role that Parliament plays in this place.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, maybe the Minister of Canadian Heritage should review the values and ethics code for the public service, especially the chapter on conflict of interest. Once again, we see her staff being lobbied by their former employers. In fact, her chief of staff has been lobbied six times by Google Canada.

Retirement Congratulations  Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Elaine Rouleau, who will be retiring this month after more than 30 years serving the students of Carleton University, including the past 18 years as the founding administrator of the Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs. While her job title may have been “administrator”, she quickly became the heart and soul of the Kroeger College, providing gentle encouragement always and a stern warning when needed.

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, I have a very simple question. I must have missed it, but perhaps the government House leader could inform the House when legislation was brought before the House to make the department of tourism and small business a stand-alone department outside the department of industry.

Cannabis Act  Mr. Speaker, as members know, this bill was originally put on notice back in June 2016, yet it has been languishing, unloved, and unmoved pretty much ever since. At the same time, these ministers in question have been receiving their payment. How are they being paid these extra salaries?

Government Appointments  Mr. Speaker, did the Prime Minister really just imply that the appointment of Graham Fraser was a partisan appointment as official languages commissioner? Now that we have seen the withdrawal of the partisan and botched appointment of Madeleine Meilleur, we are left with an interim language commissioner and an Ethics Commissioner whose term is close to an end.

Government Appointments  Mr. Speaker, I thought my question was on the Ethics Commissioner, not the Supreme Court, but with this Prime Minister it is all socks, no action. What we are left with is an Ethics Commissioner whose term is close to an end. She is currently investigating the Prime Minister himself.