Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, our government was proud to run on an ambitious economic agenda, an agenda that highlighted the importance of investment, investing in our economy and infrastructure. However, we did not pledge only to invest in the economy; we pledged to invest in the resourceful and talented people of our great country.

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  It would have been irresponsible then for our leaders to remove us from that duty, leaving our members in the field to deal with situations on their own without specialized backup. Is that not exactly what the government is doing now with our men and women in uniform? The air strikes now grounded by the Liberal government provided the necessary air support for our troops battling ISIS. If we are to provide more boots on the ground, we need to ensure that proper protection is in place.

Business of the House  Does that mean that the current Liberal government is off the hook? Not really, because the Liberals will have a serious challenge to face with the upcoming budget. During the 2015 election campaign, the Liberals promised to run deficits.

Climate Change Accountability Act  They had the foresight to know its urgency before most of us could even label it as an issue and have clung to a positive picture of our future on this planet, the possibility of living sustainably on this planet. They have hung in there not just in the face of inaction of government but in the face of the hostility of government and threats by government, most recently in the form of Bill C-51. To paraphrase David Suzuki from some years ago, others have done their part.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Madam Speaker, in response again to my colleague's question, and I appreciate her passion on this issue and her sincerity in trying to address family reunification and the processing times in particular, there are definitely concerns with certain processing posts abroad. Certain parts of the world have slower processing times than others.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I really appreciated hearing the member's own story. It is curious, because I find myself agreeing with the Liberals' high praise of the office, yet they go on to say that the office should be eliminated after praising its good work. The government is like someone who buys a new house and then rips out one of the walls, saying not to worry, that they will hold up the roof another way.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Durham for his fine defence of religious liberties. I want to congratulate him as well, for having congratulated the government on how we handled the Syrian refugees, and pointing out that many, if not most, of the people who came from Syria were fleeing religious persecution.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments made by the member, but throughout the day I have talked a great deal about the importance of human rights and the idea of religious freedom as a great Canadian value. I believe all members, on either side of the chamber, believe in the importance of religious freedom.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to a great deal of the debate today and what comes to my mind is that, when we think in terms of religious freedom, I concur with the member that it is a very strong and passionate Canadian value. It is close to our hearts, and we want to demonstrate strong leadership as much as possible, not only here in Canada but outside of Canada's borders.

Business of Supply  I do not need to go through my record and defend myself to that member, but I will say that I do think there are other sets of rights that we ought to prioritize. For example, one of my disappointments with the record of the previous Conservative government is that we did not implement a 2008 platform commitment to create a program for democratic development. I thought we ought to have done that. The government felt that funds were scarce.

Agriculture committee  Thanks. Where I'm coming from is that I've heard from a few farmers, and it's mostly the younger ones. They appreciate the programs, but the younger people don't ask, “Where's the forum for that?” They ask, “Where's the app for that?” I know the federal government funds these programs, but it doesn't necessarily deliver them.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for that very good question. It allows me to articulate a policy that would do a great deal in terms of human rights promotion. Certainly our government has spoken about the need to advocate for human rights on the international stage. Promoting women's human rights is central to that.

Business of Supply  Is it the position of the member that, because of the alleged indivisibility of rights, we cannot emphasize any sets of rights except those the Liberal government chooses to prioritize? Is not the real question here that the government is now seeking to de-prioritize an emphasis on the growing wave of violent attacks on religious minorities around the world?

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. Our government is determined to renew and strengthen human rights protection in Canada and abroad. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie received mandate letters instructing them to champion the values of inclusive and accountable governance, peaceful pluralism and respect for diversity, and human rights including the rights of women and refugees.

Human Resources committee  Once again, the idea that we have to provide information to the public is now a standard principle. In fact, even with something like this, I was involved with many small businesses, and most small businesses would find this cumbersome. This is about 10 or 20 pages long. The idea that you would be required to submit hundreds of pages of financial information annually not only would cause a huge red tape administrative burden for the unions, but in fact it also would have cost government itself, CRA, an extra $2 million annually to go through these reports to ensure that every box was checked off, that every little box was filled out.