Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I suspect if you were to canvass the House, you would find unanimous consent to see the clock at 6:30 p.m. so we can get to Government Orders.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, it is interesting that the finance critic for the Conservative-Reform party says that they are going to cut the Infrastructure Bank. He is just reaffirming a policy that we know. My question for him is this: Is the member aware of the many projects that are taking place in his home province?

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, I really appreciate the question, because it reminds me that a few weeks back, the Prime Minister came to a local school in Winnipeg North, where he highlighted the school nutrition program. That program is going to help somewhere in the neighbourhood of 400,000 children attending school.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, let me give a specific example. Provinces come up with great ideas at times, and often the national government will take a look at them to see how we might expand on them. A good example is our health care system. Saskatchewan came up with a good idea, and ultimately it was spread across Canada.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, I am afraid you will not give me the amount of time I would require in order to give a detailed answer to my friend, but let me make the suggestion to her that all she needs to take a look at is the number of people in the province of Quebec who are actually registered for the dental program, and she will find that there is in fact a need for the program.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, as all members know, in the last election, a minority government was elected, which meant that as a governing party we needed to be able to work with and get the support of opposition members in order to be able to fulfill our mandates. At the end of the day, the NDP has played a very important role in many of the different initiatives.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, the Conservative reformers across the way flip-flopped on the price on pollution. We know that. Do members remember the flip-flop? All the Conservative members campaigned on and said they support a price on pollution. They did a flip-flop. I am imploring and begging them to please reverse the decision on the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, I suspect that the member opposite, like a number of the Conservatives, should be quite embarrassed, but some of them were not here in 2016 when the voting took place. Let there be no doubt; there were two major initiatives. One of the initiatives was the special increased tax on Canada's wealthiest 1%.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, the member always has the option to leave the room if he is feeling uncomfortable. The truth does hurt, and I can appreciate that. At the end of the day, if I had any sense of a progressive nature, I would feel very uncomfortable within the Conservative Party today.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, contrary to what the Conservative critic is heckling from across the way, there are a lot of projects. There are over 40 projects, and many of them are in the province of Alberta, where rumour has it there are some Conservative members of Parliament. Why would Conservatives want to kill a program that is delivering jobs in tangible ways, green jobs, and contributing literally hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, with much of it going to agriculture.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, the finance critic says “yes” in agreement. There is no change there. That is their intent. They want to get rid of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, and it is because they do not understand—

Privilege  Madam Speaker, I would also like to review the comments that the member has put on the record. We will report back at some point in the future.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, what a pleasure it is to be able to rise and highlight a number of issues that I think are really important for those who are going to take the time to follow the debate we are going to be having on the important piece of legislation before us. Virtually from the very beginning, just under nine years ago, we have seen a government that has been focused on Canada's middle class and those aspiring to become a part of it.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Madam Speaker, one of them just said that they are. That is the reform element. Brian Mulroney actually increased it more, albeit Brian Mulroney, in fairness, was a Progressive Conservative. Do not confuse that with the Reform-Conservatives that we see today. In fact, the best way to summarize the difference between the Reform-Conservatives and the Liberals, as I said the other day, is Liberals care and Conservatives cut.

Electoral Participation Act  Mr. Speaker, we hear a lot about diversity in Canada. When I think of diversity, I think of Eid celebrations taking place today in our Muslim community, or Christmas celebrations in the month of December, or Diwali, a festival of lights, light over darkness, and I participate in that.