Holidays Act  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise in the House this evening to speak about Bill C-311, an act to amend the Holidays Act (Remembrance Day), introduced by my hon. colleague the member for West Nova. I deeply respect and admire my colleague's dedication to honouring our co

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, as I clearly stated here in the House, the minister is working closely with her colleagues on this issue, and the Standing Committee on Official Languages is also working on this important file. Canadians expect federal institutions that have been designated bilingu

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Drummond for this opportunity to affirm our government's commitment to official languages. Since its privatization in 1988, Air Canada has been subject to the Official Languages Act and must serve the public in both official languages. Th

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Madam Speaker, I think what is important to note, and it is interesting that you had 12, and I think we had 13, and one of the things—

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Yes, Madam Speaker. What was important in our campaign, and since, is to make sure as a government that the ratio of our deficit to the size of the economy remains among the lowest in G7, and certainly in the G20. What is important is that we continue investing in small busines

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Madam Speaker, it was important to us in the campaign and has been since we have been in government to make sure that we provide for the middle class, including seniors. After listening to Canadians for two years before the last election, it was clear that some of the most vulner

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. It should be noted, now that we form the government of Canada, that our approach ensures that our economy will experience full growth. That is what is behind all of our planning. Our two strategies, our two main theme

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Madam Speaker, I am honoured to share my time with the member for Gatineau. It is with immense pleasure and pride that I rise to speak in favour of Bill C-29, A second Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 22, 2016 and other measures. O

Secularism of Government Institutions  Madam Speaker, our government does defend all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We value the diversity of the population, we respect the laws and the right of people to pray and to subscribe to a particular faith, and we represent

Official Languages  Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drummond for his question. The Government of Canada, and all Canadians, firmly believe that access to federal services in the language of their choice is a fundamental issue. We firmly believe that Canadians who want to access public informa

Official Languages  Madam Speaker, our government is determined to promote and foster the use of both official languages throughout Canada, especially in communications and service to the public. The Minister of Canadian Heritage is mandated to work with the president of the Treasury Board to ensur

Canadian Human Rights Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his work on human rights, and for his comments on the bill. As an openly gay member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre and having watched the marriage debate with great personal interest, without the leadership of the House and of civil s

Canadian Human Rights Act  Mr. Speaker, there was a time not so long ago when I myself was discriminated against by our own government and our country. Since we will be called upon to vote on this bill, what can we do as MPs to ensure that people feel a genuine sense of belonging to the country and that t

Canadian Human Rights Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his speech. I am an openly gay man and an MP from Alberta, and I know that Quebec has a very open and tolerant society. According to my dear colleague, the member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix, why

Canadian Human Rights Act  Madam Speaker, the beauty of Canada is that we live in a pluralistic society. If we trace our roots back to the founding peoples, the indigenous peoples who welcomed European settlers here, and the social contract that we built with the English and French, and then later official