Religious Freedom  Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague. It is important to have these difficult conversations in our society. The problem of Islamophobia exists, and refusing to give it a name will not make it go away. The first thing we need to do to fight the phenomenon is to name it, to identify it.

Religious Freedom  Mr. Speaker, words matter. Let us talk about Islamophobia and the troubling rise in hate crimes against the Muslim community across the country. It is real; it can be defined, and it has no place in Canada. Neighbours, friends, co-workers of the Muslim faith endure systemic racism and religious discrimination here in Canada.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader of the Green Party for her sound words and her moral leadership on the issue.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to hear there is a strong social cohesion in the member's riding, and that should be the case across Canada. The reality is that some people of Muslim faith right now are not living in security in their own environment. We must address that issue. We must ensure to increase the level of security of trust in each other in order to ensure we have a strong social cohesion in every community.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the member for Mississauga—Erin Mills, since the presentation of her motion, has been going through a barrage of online abuse. She has been receiving thousands of emails, discriminating against her. Since even yesterday, when I announced we would be supporting Motion No. 103, my entire team in charge of social media has been dealing with online abuse against me because of the very issue of Islamophobia.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I think that my colleague is not talking about the real debate. The real debate is about the fact that, as the House, we need to stand united in condemning Islamophobia. I do not understand the fear that my colleague, and colleagues, are expressing against Islamophobia because when we know we have a problem, it is not by eluding to it and not talking about it that we will solve it.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, we are talking about a debate happening in the House of Commons of Canada. We denounce any form of systemic racism and also Islamophobia in Canada. As the Prime Minister has said, he is not there to lecture other countries. I am proud to see that my colleague is supporting our work and our Motion No. 103.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, last December, our colleague from Mississauga—Erin Mills tabled a motion in response to a petition presented by the member for Pierrefonds—Dollard that had been supported and signed by 70,000 people. The member for Pierrefonds—Dollard and the member for Mississauga—Erin Mills decided to put forward this initiative, and I am very glad they did.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the parliamentary secretary for multiculturalism, the MP for Parkdale—High Park, stood in the House of Commons in solidarity with the Liberal caucus to announce the government's support for the MP for Mississauga—Erin Mills' motion recognizing the need to counter all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce, along with my colleague the Minister of Justice, the reinstatement and modernization of the court challenges program. This program has helped to hold successive governments accountable for defending the rights and freedoms of all Canadians.

Quebec  Mr. Speaker, the comments made in the Washington Post op-ed are unacceptable and we denounce them. Quebeckers, like all Canadians, are open and welcoming. The surge of solidarity following the terrorist attack in Quebec City made that very clear. It is up to all of us to speak out against discrimination and injustice.

Quebec  Mr. Speaker, I repeat that the comments made in the Washington Post op-ed are unacceptable. We strongly condemn them. As my colleague mentioned, we firmly believe that we must speak out against all forms of injustice and discrimination. That is why we condemn the statements that were made and support the Bloc Québécois's motion in that regard.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation is a unique opportunity to bring Canadians together and strengthen our connection to our communities by inspiring a vision of a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive country. Canada 150 celebrations will be rooted in community building, engagement, and family celebrations from coast to coast to coast.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the amount of the total 2017 budget for the Canadian Administrator of VRS, or CAV, is $25,419,405. With regard to (b), the amount of CAV’s 2016 deficit is $666,693. With regard to (c), while there is no line item in the budget specifically called “administrative expenses”, the CAV projected $375,419 for administration for 2017.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, as of January 1, 2016, in the effort to increase transparency, Canadian Heritage became the first department to go above and beyond Treasury Board policy requirements on proactive disclosure and committed to disclosing awards from one dollar and above. Please note that the requested information is available on the departmental website at http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1453476384672/1453476482298.