Laurentides—Labelle  Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to rise and speak here today after working in the back rooms of this place for many years. I want to begin by thanking the people of Laurentides—Labelle for placing their trust in me and this new government. The riding of Laurentides—Labelle is

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, I was proud of our commitment to grant immediate permanent residency to spouses who have been sponsored to immigrate to Canada. A number of my constituents are waiting on these regulatory changes to be reunited with their loved ones, who

Centre Block Fire of 1916  Mr. Speaker, exactly 100 years ago today, on February 3, 1916, a fire broke out in the reading room here in the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings. The fire destroyed the entire building, with the exception of the library, and claimed seven lives, including those of the mem

Business of the House  Mr. Speaker, the member for York—Simcoe wants to talk about past Conservative surpluses, so let us talk about them. The former Conservative government of the member for Calgary Heritage was the first Conservative government since that of Sir Robert Borden in 1912, the year the T

Business of the House  Madam Speaker, the Conservatives have, once again, taken the opportunity to put forward real policy on this opposition day and traded it for a chance to talk about themselves and the mirage of their own ostensibly brilliant record. If we take the old books off the Conservative

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, in his mandate letter, the Prime Minister instructed the Minister of National Revenue to turn the Canada Revenue Agency into a client-focused institution. The government must ensure that Canadian taxpayers are always treated with respect. That respect must permeate

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives talk extensively about their support of soldiers, of veterans, of wars, of fights. While pushing that agenda, the Conservatives attempted to destroy peacekeeping as a Canadian value. I suppose having peace is not good for those who prefer war. Howe

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, we must not give people fish; we must teach them how to fish. We will triple the size of our mission to train the forces on the ground that are fighting Daesh. Our plan is not to withdraw our help from the region, but to be effective and provide significant assistanc

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Madam Speaker, first, I would like to commend my colleague on his very clear speech. Could he tell us a little bit more about the importance of training, particularly since his riding is home to the Royal Military College Saint-Jean? Training has been one of our country's great

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, the member has gone to great lengths to tell us why Bill C-24 was a terrible bill, and I appreciate her support on this issue. The Conservative government went to great lengths to devalue Canadian citizenship, to make Canadians unequal, and to separate Canadians by t

Questions on the Order Paper  With regard to the Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations (VORR) and where applicable its Local Authorities’ Guide: (a) what are the details of all applications ever received under Section 4, broken down by (i) date of first contact or initiation of the application, (ii) date o

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, Canada's Office of Religious Freedom was just one way of protecting human rights and freedoms around the world. In my opinion, freedom of religion also includes the freedom to be religious or not. We all have a right to freedom of thought and belief, and we also h

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on her excellent speech on freedom of religion, its relationship to poverty, and our global commitment as a nation regarding these issues. The Conservatives want us to continue with their program exactly as it is, without conside

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, one of the wonders of freedom is that the member for Calgary Midnapore can challenge our logic with his own logic, and we can have a completely civilized conversation based on fundamental and sometimes irreconcilable philosophical disagreements. One wonders, then, w

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I congratulate the member for Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock on his excellent speech. The freedom to have this debate is a freedom that is dear to us all. Do human rights begin and end with religious freedom? Not to me. I agree that the Office of Religious Freedo