Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to congratulate the member and let her know what a remarkable contribution she is making to the Liberal caucus and the government's activities. She goes about her work in a very open and transparent manner, in a way that is respectful of the many differences in the House, and with a spirit of inclusion.

Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, I just want to say three things. Number one, my colleague, like some of my other colleagues in the House, probably experienced some traumatic things in the pre-2015 era. My colleagues are well aware that we do not even come close to the former government's track record for shutting down debate.

Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, this gives me the opportunity to congratulate the member, who knows how important it is to listen and be respectful of the diversity of views of Canadians, particularly indigenous Canadians, who have for too long been forgotten in the way the Canadian government has moved forward.

Oceans Act  I thank my colleague for his comment, Mr. Speaker. It is true, he has been in the House a little longer than I have, so I am sure he knows how complicated things were prior to 2015. I have not been in the member's shoes. Maybe I have not had the same traumatic experiences, but I know that in 2017 and 2018, our Liberal caucus is doing tremendous work.

Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member and commend him for his interest and his contribution to the debate. As he well knows, Bill C-55 would correct a major flaw in the current system. The current system has two possibilities, zero protection or full protection, and nothing in between.

Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, the voices of members of the House are extremely important. The voices of Canadians in 2015 were equally important. Canadians let us know they wanted a greater share of our oceans to be protected. Less than 1% of our oceans were protected before 2015. We said in the campaign that 5% of our oceans would be protected by 2017.

Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we have had the privilege of listening to approximately 11 hours of debate in this House, seven and a half at third reading. The parliamentary committee on fisheries and oceans did a great job. It met with 34 different witnesses. It was amazing work and an experience that will last not only a matter of days but a matter of years, because this bill is going to change Canada for the future.

Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, I think most members in this House will appreciate, value, and congratulate the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the Minister of Environment, and the Minister of Natural Resources for their collaborative work in moving our country forward when it comes to supporting the environment and supporting the economy.

Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, thank you for reminding us of the question that was asked and giving me the opportunity to complete my answer, which is very simple. I commend all members of the House, particularly the Conservative members who gave 21 of the 34 speeches on the issue. Two-thirds of the speeches were given by Conservative members.

Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate and value very much the contribution of my colleague. She knows really well, because of her vast experience, that the House has two responsibilities. The first one is to listen to the diversity of perspectives and views in this chamber as well as in the other one.

Oceans Act  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House, mainly to thank and commend all hon. members of the House for the remarkable work they did over the past few weeks and months. We had the privilege of holding wide-ranging debates; some even rose several times for a total of 10 and a half hours of debate, including seven and a half at third reading stage alone—

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her interest in this important issue. She knows as well as I do how much the Canadian government cares about families, parents, and children going through tough times. She also knows how much money we have invested in the quality of the services and benefits we offer to Canadians who are facing challenges.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I would like first to thank and congratulate the member for Oakville for his tremendous work in support of the housing needs of his constituents. On April 9, we signed a historic housing partnership with provinces and territories that has recognized our combined and complementary responsibility to support the housing needs of Canadians.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle for her commendable work in support of community housing and all her constituents. On November 22, we announced and launched this country's first-ever national housing strategy, which will provide $40 billion over 10 years to get 530,000 Canadian families out of unaffordable or unacceptable housing.

Seniors  Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the member for Cambridge as well as all members of the HUMA committee for their outstanding work on behalf of seniors. I would also like to thank the member for Nickel Belt for tabling the motion that led to this report, as well as all members of the Liberal caucus on seniors.