Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, the short answer is that the money must be handed over to Quebec and the municipalities because the federal government is not the one that will be doing the building. Who knows best what the needs are? The people on the ground do. We have to ensure that this money gets to the right places quickly, with a lot more flexibility and a lot fewer conditions.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I thank my kind colleagues whose energy motivates me when I am speaking. Bill C‑34 was supposed to be on the agenda today, but the Conservative Party decided that we would instead discuss the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, which has to do with the national housing strategy.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague who also sits on the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. I am trying to understand the motion. This is a committee report on the national housing strategy. We got information directly from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC, and the strategy.

National Unemployed Workers Week  Mr. Speaker, October 30 to November 3 is national unemployed workers week, organized by the Mouvement autonome et solidaire des sans-emploi. I commend this initiative, which rallies unemployed workers' rights groups from several regions of Quebec to remind the Liberal government of its many broken promises to reform the employment insurance system.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, in today's debate on a plan to balance the budget, I keep hearing the government, its representatives and its members say that they are investing in Canadians, that they will always be there for Canadians and that they are here for them. Under the current circumstances, I wonder if someone can explain to me why the government is not investing in a robust EI program when there are workers who are struggling.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Madam Speaker, I would like my colleague to further explain how exempting rental housing developers from paying GST will address the crying need for affordability. How is this going to lower housing prices to help the middle class and the poorest get by? Given that this was an NDP idea, from what I understand, can my colleague explain how this will address those needs?

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Madam Speaker, I do share my colleague's concern. That is why I was wondering if getting rid of the GST on rental housing construction was the only proposed solution. We do not know how many housing units will be built. We are not getting these answers. As far as affordability is concerned, we understand that the government cannot guarantee that, because the builder is the one who will get the GST exemption.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Madam Speaker, I want to commend my colleague. It is a pleasure to work with him on such important issues. I thank him for drawing attention to Quebec's initiatives. There are many people in Quebec who also want to do more, but I think there are important programs in place. Why?

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Madam Speaker, the member is talking about big labour organizations. At the beginning of my speech, I talked about social solidarity. Our communities are better off because of the social and public programs we choose for ourselves. Unions are major contributors to that. I was on the board of the FTQ's Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs for seven years, so I know that those are the kinds of actions such funds take to support the construction of affordable rental housing.

Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Madam Speaker, since this my first opportunity to give a speech since Parliament resumed, I would like to take the opportunity to say hello to all the people in my riding of Thérèse-De Blainville and to once again tell them that they can count on me. I reiterate my commitment to be a strong voice for them in Ottawa.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I really liked the part of my colleague's speech about studying the sanctions regime from a feminist perspective. Often, in acts of aggression like this one, which must be condemned, women are direct or collateral victims. We should look at sanctions. I would appreciate it if my colleague could tell us more about the sanctions that Canada could impose in this conflict, because it is a conflict.

40th Anniversary of Atelier Altitude  Mr. Speaker, this month, I had the opportunity and pleasure to participate in the 40th anniversary celebrations of Atelier Altitude. Atelier Altitude is a public education organization that seeks to help adults with intellectual disabilities to become and remain independent and develop and maintain social and other skills.

Strengthening the Port System and Railway Safety in Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, before the bill we are debating was introduced, a working group looked into this matter. The mandate of that working group, created in March 2022 by the transport minister at the time, was to study recent supply chain disruptions. Factors like pandemics, COVID-19, climate change and flooding were mentioned, among other things.

Labour  Mr. Speaker, a large union demonstration was held today on Parliament Hill to demand anti-scab legislation now. We may well have tabled, retabled and re-retabled bills to prevent the use of strikebreakers, but Ottawa will not budge. A mockery is being made of the right to free collective bargaining.

Prevention of Government-Imposed Vaccination Mandates Act  Madam Speaker, I usually say that it is a pleasure to rise and comment on a bill, but this time I am not sure it is a pleasure. The bill seeks to amend the Financial Administration Act so that the Treasury Board can no longer impose mandatory vaccination. The bill also seeks to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Aeronautics Act, the Railway Safety Act and the Canada Shipping Act, 2001.