Italian Heritage Month  Mr. Speaker, June is Italian Heritage Month. It is an opportunity for all Canadians to think about and celebrate all the goods things we have that come from Italy: la cultura, il cibo, il vino, l'architettura, l'arte e la moda. Let us not forget gelato. Tonight MPs from all sides of the House will gather for the second annual Canada Italy Day on the Hill.

Speech and Hearing Month  Mr. Speaker, [Member spoke in sign language] May is Speech and Hearing Month. As the husband of a speech-language pathologist, it is a great honour to rise today to recognize Canada's outstanding speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and communication health assistants.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, before I became a member of Parliament and before I entered into financial services, I worked at McDonald’s as a kid. I worked at a pulp mill growing up in northern British Columbia, and I cleaned fish as a fish filleter in northern British Columbia. I know very well how hard Canadians work day in and day out, and I take great offence at this word “elite”.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, Bill C-44 undertakes historic investments in health care and mental health care across Canada from coast to coast to coast. A number of measures in the bill will help Canadians, whether it is the new Canada caregiver tax credit or improvements to EI. These measures will benefit all Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss our government's plan to build a stronger middle class through what I see as a three-pillar approach. It is an approach that includes investments in infrastructure, a focus on innovation to ensure that our economy continues to unlock new possibilities, and the final pillar, continuing investments in lifelong learning and skills training for Canadians to help them succeed in an evolving 21st century job market.

Egypt  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my heartfelt personal condolences to the Coptic Christian community in Canada on yesterday's horrific attacks on St. George's church and St. Mark's Cathedral in Egypt. These cowardly and senseless bombings struck those attending Palm Sunday services, marking the beginning of Holy Week.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I will take a holistic approach and look at all the pieces we have put in place to support families across Canada. There is the introduction of the Canada child benefit, and the investment of funds for child care spaces across Canada. We need to sit down with our provincial counterparts and ensure that the money is being delivered for child care, which is very important.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, with regard to the tax loopholes or tax advantages that people or organizations may wish to gain, we have again committed substantial funds to the Canada Revenue Agency. I believe it is over $500 million, so we can ensure that all Canadians, all organizations, are paying their fair share of taxes.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that our government is investing over $11 billion in a new housing strategy, which will assist those Canadians who need it the most: our seniors, disabled veterans, and low-income families. It is of paramount concern within the GTA that individuals have access to affordable housing, and our government is putting down a large investment to ensure this happens.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure today to rise to speak to budget 2017. This budget is the next step in our government's focus to ensure a brighter future for all Canadians with what I call a three-pronged approach: a focus on innovation, infrastructure, and skills training.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, our mandate is to invest in Canadians. Whether it is through the Canada child benefit, whether it is through the increased guaranteed income supplement, whether it is through middle-class tax cuts, whether it is through asking the 1% to pay for a bit more, our mandate is to help hard-working middle-class Canadians and Canadians who want to join the middle class.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, our government is a government that consults and our government is a government that listens. That is exactly what we have done with municipalities. We have sat down with them and we have listened to them. They know best what their needs are. That is what is our government is doing: listening to them and responding, and ensuring that they have the resources available to continue to build up their cities so their citizens can get home earlier at night.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, our infrastructure program that we are ramping up and announcing projects for with the $180 billion over 12 years includes the York-Spadina subway extension in the City of Vaughan, for which I had the pleasure of announcing a $30-million inter-regional bus terminal.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to say how pleased I am to speak in the House today on what our government has done and is planning to do for infrastructure in this country. The Government of Canada knows that infrastructure provides Canadians with opportunities to get an education, to volunteer, to grow a business, to raise a family in a safe community.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, if we look at the findings to date from the CRA, in 2015-16 alone, over 120,000 audits resulted in more than $12 billion in additional taxes assessed as well as penalties and interest. Our government is committed to cracking down on aggressive tax avoidance and tax evasion.