George Mejury  Mr. Speaker, it is with great sorrow that I inform the House of the passing of my good friend and constituent, George Mejury. The funny thing is that we did not start off as friends. George, otherwise known by his Twitter handle of @TOareaFan, and I first met when he tweeted at me shortly after the 2015 election.

Ukraine  Mr. Speaker, today I stand in this House to add my voice to the countless Canadians, of all faiths and backgrounds, who are shocked and angered by Putin’s unjust, unprovoked, illegal attack on Ukraine. It is incredibly hard to see the images of families torn apart and the grave loss of lives and destruction.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, I was really moved by the answer the member just gave. We have been continuously hearing from the opposition today that this is a peaceful protest, that the protesters all meant well, and that the protesters were just having a carnival here for the last three weeks.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, I would say to my colleague and to the House that we have received lots of warnings, and we are continuing to receive warnings, from our security and cybersecurity experts that Canada and many democratically elected governments are under a real threat. We have seen proof of that here within our own borders.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, in this case, we had a series of blockades across the country closing our borders. These did irreparable damage: over $390 million of damage a day. The city was taken siege for over three weeks, not to mention that the mayors of the cities and the premiers were calling on the federal government to intervene and implement measures to give them the tools and resources that they needed.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, in fact, Coutts was requiring them, and had a very difficult time getting the tow trucks that were needed. Many of the law enforcement agencies complained that this was a key problem they had. They were not able to get the private resources that were needed, but that has become a lot easier ever since the Emergencies Act was put in place.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, absolutely, and I would like to thank my colleague for bringing that up. Our infrastructure was under threat and continues to be under threat in this country. That is why it is so important to make sure that we vote in favour of the implementation of this act today.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, being able to rise today on this issue is an opportunity I do not take lightly nor for granted. It is only in a few democratic countries like ours that the voice of someone like me would even be heard or carry any weight. Over the last several days, we have heard many points of view on the invocation of the Emergencies Act and regarding the details outlined in the declaration of the act tabled in the House.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, I do agree with my colleague opposite on one point, and that is feeling bad for the truckers. I feel very sorry for the truckers. I happen to represent one of the largest constituencies with many truckers. Those truckers called my office and called me directly and they were upset.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague this. Tonight, a lot of references have been made that we need to listen to Canadians and to our constituents, so I would like to ask the member for Nepean this. What do his constituents think of this occupation in Ottawa?

Award for Teaching Excellence  Mr. Speaker, as the mother of a young child in the Peel District School Board system, I know how much teachers have stepped up to make sure our children receive a quality education despite the challenges of the pandemic. All of our teachers deserve to be commended for their incredible work.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  Madam Speaker, I found my colleague's speech to be quite interesting. First, I am a person of faith as well, and she thanks God for the rapid tests and vaccines this country has now procured. I know she was a big critic on whether we would be able to do all of those things. I would say that we should be thanking the government for being able to manage in such difficult times.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague talked a lot about the housing issue but has not mentioned anything about how supply has decreased during COVID-19. He talked a lot about government spending but has not talked about why that spending was necessary. I would like to know which of the benefits the member would have liked to see cut.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  Mr. Speaker, I thought I could agree with a lot of aspects of the hon. member's speech. We need to work on housing across party lines. However, near the end of his speech, I started hearing the rhetoric we constantly hear from the opposition. He is labelling the leader of this country as the one who is cranking up the rhetoric, but I would argue it is really coming from the other side.

Former Member for Bramalea—Gore—Malton  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand in the House today to share some wonderful news about my dear friend and former member of Parliament the Honourable Gurbax Malhi. Mr. Malhi is an inspiration to both the Sikh community and Brampton. In 1993, Mr. Malhi was elected to serve as the Bramalea—Gore—Malton representative in Ottawa and continued to serve for an impressive 18 consecutive years.