Status of Women committee  Thank you very much for the question. This is a challenge that I'll put out to the entire committee. On April 16 of this year, I launched a campaign through Status of Women Canada called, It Starts with One—Be Her Champion. I want to challenge all of you to take the pledge. Th

Status of Women committee  Merci, Madam Chair. Thank you to the committee for inviting me to discuss the 2015-16 main estimates for Status of Women Canada. I am joined today by Meena Ballantyne, head of agency for Status of Women Canada, and Anik Lapointe, the chief financial officer and director of Corp

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, the best way to close the pay gap is to make sure women have great jobs. That is what this government is focused on, making sure that Canadian women have access to board opportunities, making sure women have access to skilled professional trades, making sure women ha

Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015  Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear for the member opposite. Independent, expert, non-partisan oversight is the very best oversight for any of these organizations. That is actually what the parents in my riding talk about. They want independent, non-partisan oversight because they

Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015  As I said in my speech, Mr. Speaker, there is no liberty without security. Therefore, no, the sky is not falling over this. We are making sure that Canadians are safe and secure at home. That is what we are focused on. We are hopeful the opposition will actually step up and make

Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015  Mr. Speaker, I think Ms. Vincent said it very clearly, because she feels very passionately about what is in the bill. Let me outline some of the key details that are in the bill, all of which would have helped to make sure that these Canadian Forces members were still with us.

Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join this important debate. We are blessed to live in a great country. In fact, it is the greatest country in the world. Canada is free, prosperous, open and tolerant. Canadians can succeed or fail based on their own merit, believe what they wish, tra

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I would like the Canadian public to look at the track record of the opposition. We put forward tax reductions in the past, like the GST. In fact, there have been more than 160 tax reductions. The opposition voted against them all. It is fine for them to have a conver

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, what Mr. Flaherty was about was reducing taxes and making sure that Canadians had money back in their own pockets. He reduced taxes in the House multiple times through multiple budgets. I am proud to say that I was part of a government with him. What we are doing is

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Winnipeg South Centre. I am pleased to rise today to speak to economic action plan 2015, a balanced-budget, low-tax plan for jobs, growth and security. Our government is balancing the budget while taking prudent acti

Health  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country for his great work on the subject. As a practising pediatric surgeon, I say with confidence that marijuana is an illegal drug for a reason. It has serious and lasting health effects, part

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, the economic action plan specifically focuses on issues with sexual harassment in the workplace, ensuring women are protected there, as well as a number of initiatives that we have moved forward on to make sure we are supporting victims of crime. About job creation,

Labour  Mr. Speaker, I ask the member opposite if she is supporting the budget, because we are supporting interns. Economic action plan 2015 specifically outlines for interns in federal jurisdiction, regardless of the pay they receive, occupational health and safety benefits. Please, jus

Labour  Mr. Speaker, I just mentioned what is in economic action plan 2015. Our government knows that internships in particular can provide important learning experiences so people get that first job. We are focused on making sure internships are available. They have been available in ou

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, in the budget there is a new action plan for women entrepreneurs, again creating new jobs. That is what we need to do, create new jobs. We know that when women lead a company they actually hire more women, again creating more jobs. Let alone, the universal child care