Speech from the Throne  Mr. Speaker, as this is my first opportunity to rise in this House, let me congratulate you for being re-elected to this chamber and for your successful election yesterday as our Speaker. I would also like to congratulate the member for Brampton North for her election and her ex

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, before I begin my speech, I would like to indicate that I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River. As this is my maiden speech in the House of Commons, I would like to thank the people of Vancouver East for giving me a

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, my riding is one of the poorest in this country. I would like to see the government give the tax breaks to the bracket of people who are not eligible right now for exactly those tax breaks. Many of the people in Vancouver East need that break. They need that support.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, there is no question that safe, secure, affordable housing is needed everywhere in this country, from social housing to co-operative housing. They play an important role. In my riding, there are more than 3,000 units of affordable housing whose operating agreements a

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, we need a full continuum of housing options. There is no question that co-op housing is an important component, and there needs to be support there, but building social housing is equally important. In British Columbia more than 10,000 people are on the wait list. Pe

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, congratulations to you for you new position; and a big congratulations to the member for Mississauga—Erin Mills for her first speech. I enjoyed her speech very much, listening to her stories to learn about her constituents. She mentioned single parents in her comm

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I will be using my time for questions and answers. My first question for the minister is, could he inform the House how much of the $178 million for operating expenditures at Citizenship and Immigration would go toward processing refugee applications overseas?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, how much of the $178 million would go toward processing applications for private sponsorships? I am trying to get the separation between the two categories.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, will the government meet its target to have 2,000 government assisted refugees in Canada by December 31?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the minister has committed $14 million for personnel and $156 million for professional and special services. Could the minister explain if this means the department will be relying on consultants, rather than full-time staff?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, what is the $156 million for, then?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the minister announced this morning that the interim federal health program is being restored for all Syrian refugees. Could the minister confirm whether the restored interim federal health program is available to all refugees?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, does the minister have a timeline?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, is the funding for the interim federal health program included in the supplementary estimates? If so, how much?

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I assume that this is just for the Syrian refugees, then?