Privilege  Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, we all have a responsibility as parliamentarians to work collaboratively to make sure that we influence good public policy, and that we bring laws forward. At this point in time, our government has a very tight agenda, and a lot of bills need to

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I really have to agree that much needs to be changed in this House when it comes to decorum. I am a member of PROC, the procedure and House affairs committee. As a new member of Parliament, and as a social worker who is not used to working in such an adversarial env

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, not at all. First and foremost, we have to recognize that if PROC is going to be looking at this issue, we really have to make sure that we collect all of the information on what occurred yesterday. The role of PROC is really to be the collector of facts, and that i

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, we are certainly not here today debating if yesterday's behaviour or conduct was appropriate. I think we would all say that what we witnessed yesterday was not what we wanted to see in the House. However, today I rise to speak to a question of privilege raised last

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for his genuine apology with his sincere words. Being a new member of Parliament in the House, I have to say I find the tone has been a bit of a challenge, especially for the past little while. Does the Prime Minister

Human Rights  Mr. Speaker, today is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Please join me in celebrating equality for all Canadians. Today, I encourage all my colleagues to reach out to one another and promote individuals to be their true selves, regardless of sexual

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to congratulate the Minister of Democratic Institutions and the government House leader for the motion to begin our national discussion on electoral reform. Our government is continuing to fulfill its pledges to Canadians to strengthen and

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question and his comments. That is basically it. Once again, we want to make sure that every hon. member in the House will have an opportunity to debate this bill. However, we are all aware that we need to move to the committee stage

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, once again, we want to encourage a healthy debate in the House and ensure that all members have the right and the opportunity to speak to this bill. We want to ensure that the bill goes to committee since we have a deadline to meet.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, we have been debating this bill for quite some time. The simple response is that we want this healthy debate to continue for the next period of time, however, we also want to see this move on to the work the committee needs to get done.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. This does not mean that the debate cannot continue. We are even prepared to sit this evening into the wee hours of the morning to ensure that every member of the House has the time to debate this subject that is so very importa

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question and his comments. Once again, all of us in the House recognize that the time and the issue being debated are very sensitive. We have until June 6 to act. That is why we want to give every hon. member in the House the opportun

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I move: That this question be now put.

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, last month the Minister of Status of Women led a delegation of Canadian women at the 60th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Can the Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women inform the House of what was achieved at that session?

Mental Health  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the House to recognize that Mental Health Week is fast approaching; it is actually in early May. Also, in light of events that happened in Attawapiskat and in other communities, I would like to raise awareness about the importance of mental health. On