Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, emerging in this conversation is a very fair critique of the previous government's approach to trade. Its trade performance was abysmal. It has already been pointed out that it inherited a trade surplus of about $60 billion. By the time it left office, there was a trade deficit of about minus $20 billion.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my hon. colleague on his speech. He was a very hard-working minister of trade. I know he is a fervent proponent of free trade agreements. There are a number of different perspectives on trade though. One of them is a defensive one. Some argue that if the U.S. and Mexico ratify the TPP, then Canada would have little choice but to do so, particularly because it would give preferential access to our competitors to the Japanese market.

Excise Tax Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-271, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (batteries for medical or assistive devices). Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise in the House, with thanks to my honourable colleague, the great member for Port Moody—Coquitlam, who is seconding this bill.

Statistics Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-272, An Act to amend the Statistics Act (fire and emergency response statistics). Mr. Speaker, once again, I would like to thank the seconder, the hard-working member for Port Moody—Coquitlam. This is a bill that would require Statistics Canada to collect better data on fire and emergency response.

Health  Mr. Speaker, opioid overdoses are a growing epidemic across the country. Hundreds of people are dying. British Columbia has declared a public health emergency, yet the Minister of Health abandoned regulations requiring tamper-resistant forms of these powerful prescription drugs.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1.  Mr. Speaker, I know that members who come from British Columbia, particularly the Lower Mainland, are aware of the absolute crisis in affordable housing. In the city that I come from, Vancouver, the average house price is now well over $1 million, meaning that the vast majority of families cannot afford to buy a simple house with a backyard, which our parents and many of us in this chamber have done.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1.  Mr. Speaker, it is well known that one of the primary responsibilities, if not the primary responsibility, of members of the House, the reason we are sent here in a parliamentary democracy to represent our constituents, is to scrutinize the spending of the government. The government, as the executive, has the ability to plan a budget and to authorize its spending, and it is the job of every single member of the House, from all parties, to carefully scrutinize that spending.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1.  Mr. Speaker, I want to echo the comments of my colleague in saying how disappointing and unacceptable it is to hear the new Liberal government hold up the previous Conservative government as a barometer of respect for democracy. I do not think that is what Canadians voted for when they went to the polls last October.

Health  Madam Speaker, as drug overdoses continue to kill more and more Canadians, the minister has failed to act proactively on another serious issue. In recent weeks, the minister decided to abandon new regulations to require tamper-resistant forms of powerful opioid prescription drugs.

Health  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to the question that I asked the Minister of Health with respect to Bill C-2, the former Conservative government's so-called respect for communities act. I want to begin by taking a moment to commend the minister for her decision to visit lnsite, Vancouver's life-saving safe injection site, in January.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I come from the school of thought that, in Canadian elections, in order for voters to cast a responsible ballot, they should be able to count on the promises that the political parties are making to them at that time, so they can have confidence that what they vote for is what they are going to get.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I have a great respect for the hon. member for Milton. I congratulate her on many of the points she made. However, I have something to ask with respect to her speech, which was very confusing. She repeatedly made mention of the importance of assisting women in this country and, in particular, assisting women in entering the workforce.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, last Parliament it was discovered that endangered fin whale meat had been shipped across Canada and left through the Port of Vancouver, destined for Japan from Iceland. Since 1972, Canada has banned commercial whaling in Canadian waters. Canada is signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which has listed the fin whale and other endangered whales under the category requiring the highest level of protection against commercial trade.

National Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias Act  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today as health critic for the New Democratic Party, to speak to Bill C-233 and the urgent need to address the impact of dementia and Alzheimer's disease on patients, families, communities, and our public health care system. Dementia disease is a progressive degenerative disorder that attacks nerve cells in the brain, resulting in loss of memory, thinking, language skills, and behavioural changes.

National Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias Act  Madam Speaker, as my hon. colleague points out in his speech, it was the NDP that first introduced in the House a proposal to create a national strategy for dementia. In 2012, former NDP MP Claude Gravelle, the great member for Nickel Belt at that time, introduced Bill C-356, prescribing a national dementia strategy in Parliament.