Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I think the House heard the minister say that it was important to proceed under the rubric of the rule of law. This is a question of international public law procedure. I think he also alluded to the fact that it is important to pursue this because the evidence that

Canadian Heritage  Mr. Speaker, a few days ago the Minister of Canadian Heritage held a press conference to outline the Canada Day 2016 activities in the national capital region. This year, we will be celebrating the 149th anniversary of Confederation, and as we head into a big year of celebration

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, our government is putting a premium on the integration between the environment and the economy, which is something we believe has not been properly dealt with over the last decade or so. Could the minister take a few seconds to explain to Canadians why this is so impor

Petitions  Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I rise today to table a petition. The petition is signed by hundreds of local residents who are urging the government to undertake public consultations to ensure Canadians have a fair electoral system and to introduce a suitable form

Government Advertising  Mr. Speaker, partisan advertising has no place in government. Canadian taxpayers should not be footing the bill for government ads that advance the political interests of any party in power. They should be able to trust that government advertising is legitimate, purposeful, and i

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1.  Mr. Speaker, even if I tried, I could not be nearly as negative as the member has just been. It has been my experience, with more than 12 budgets in the House, that when a member says there is absolutely nothing of value in an opposing party's budget, then the credibility of the

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, infrastructure is foundational to our ability to compete. We will be having a debate in this House shortly about a particular motion brought by a colleague with respect to imposing some, if I can call it, green conditionality to backstop our infrastructure spending

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I would say to my colleague that budgets are about choices. They are about allocating scarce resources. In its wisdom, our government decided to eliminate a small number of tax measures in order to bring in a much more generous Canada child benefit. Families making a

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I am not sure how you would respond to these concerns. However, our government is responding to these concerns by making absolutely sure that this debate is fulsome, that it continues, and that we talk about the very details that the member highlights. This budget wi

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise again for a few minutes to provide some comments about the important budget we brought down in the country recently. When I last left off, I was speaking about the need for countries to make investments in learning. In fact, I argue, still argue

Al Saikali  Mr. Speaker, on March 2, 2016, Ottawa lost a legendary community builder. Al Saikali, the founder of Al's Steakhouse, passed away at the age of 87. The oldest of three children, he was born Halim Saikali in the Beqaa Valley in central Lebanon. He worked as a labourer and a barb

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, through you, I wish a good morning to my colleagues on all sides of the House. This is a continuing and foundational debate for the country. I have always believed that budgets are about choices, and they really do reflect how a government lends shape to its specif

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for his remarks. I appreciate the fact that he goes as far back as Aldous Huxley, and perhaps even Mortimer Adler, in terms of Adler's distinction between differences of kind and of degree. Like him, as someone who spent five years studying the

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, I have been following the debate very closely, in particular the divergence in points of view on all sides of the House. I want to commend my colleagues here on all sides who have elevated the debate and who are keeping front and centre in their minds that we are re

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, this is a very important debate. Our party congratulates the Conservative Party for bringing the motion forward here today. It is an intelligent, thoughtful debate about Canada's role and purpose in the world. My question is directed at some of the comments made by