Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, our civil service, in two words, is world class. Our civil service can be looked to by any country in the world on the delivery of the programs we have for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. There is the guaranteed income supplement and the Canada pension plan that is sent monthly to pensioners across this country, those who really built this country we call home and are so proud to be part of.

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, one of our platform commitments was to re-establish a relationship with both public sector unions and private sector unions, from coast to coast to coast, based on trust, faith, and collective bargaining rights for all workers and those that had recently been certified.

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, I welcome this occasion to rise in support of Bill C-62. I wish to note I will be splitting my time with my friend and colleague, the hon. member for Winnipeg North. The bill would repeal collective bargaining changes for the public service passed in 2013. It would also repeal legislation that would have allowed a government to override the collective bargaining process and unilaterally impose a short-term disability plan.

H2 Hockey Straps  Mr. Speaker, as Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.” I rise today to speak about two young entrepreneurs in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge. David and Adam Nascimben, ages 12 and eight, had the determination to take the shot of a lifetime. Through their passion for hockey, the two brothers developed the H2 hockey straps.

Salaries Act  Madam Speaker, Bill C-24 would allow us to continue to do our great work. It would allow the RDAs to do their great work. It brings them under one roof to support small and medium-sized enterprises across Canada. With regard to the Asian infrastructure bank, Canada is a multilateral and bilateral partner with a number of organizations around the world.

Salaries Act  Madam Speaker, I am certain a list of those grants that have been announced are available for every region in Canada. We continue to look at where each grant is going, ensuring that all grant applications that fit the needs of the area, the employers and employees are looked at by all RDAs across Canada.

Salaries Act  Madam Speaker, within the minister's portfolio, nothing has changed on the ground. Nothing has changed with each of the RDAs. They continue to look at each of the regions under their particular mandate, whether it is the lovely province of Quebec, or the east or west coast. Those RDAs continue to do an intake of applications and continue to look at each of them on a merit system in fulfilling their mandate.

Salaries Act  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my hon. colleague, the member for Winnipeg North. Before I begin, if this is the last occasion that I rise in this House to speak this year, I would like to wish all of my colleagues a wonderful and merry Christmas, and all the best for the new year.

Hats On For Awareness  Mr. Speaker, 28 years ago, Giovanni Tiberi lost his battle with depression and, after his death, his daughter Enza pledged to learn more about mental health, hoping to prevent such heartbreak for other families. Enza and Benny Caringi co-founded Hats On For Awareness. This organization fights against the stigma of mental illness by raising public awareness and helping people who are dealing with mental illness or addiction.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the beautiful province of Quebec for his question. The results of our plan speak for themselves. Whether it is on the job front, the unemployment rate, or wage gains that Canadians are making, the evidence is clear. Two years in, we have created 450,000 new jobs.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, it is great to be here this afternoon with other passionate speakers we have heard from today on Bill C-63. I would like to present my humble view on Bill C-63, the budget implementation act, 2017, no. 2, which is the second and final piece of legislation to implement budget 2017.

Budget  Mr. Speaker, last week, our government tabled Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2. Budget 2017 is the next step in our government's ambitious plan to make smart investments that will create jobs, grow our economy, and provide more opportunities for the middle class in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge and across Canada.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I have two brief points. First, retirement security and retiring in a dignified way for millions of Canadians is important to us. That is why we enhanced the CPP and boosted the GIS. If there are other avenues we could take, we will obviously look at them. We need to make sure we strengthen our retirement system.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the Finance Minister continues to work closely with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to ensure that all rules are followed, as is expected of him and all members of Parliament.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the Finance Minister's ethics are beyond refute. We as members always must uphold the highest standards as publicly elected officials. Knowing the Finance Minister, I know that has been done.