Colin Reynolds

Madam Speaker, I think the biggest issue we are discussing is the fact that the major changes in approving national interest projects are all going to be made at the hands of a minister and at one person's discretion. I think having all of these major changes coming forward in an omnibus bill is not the right approach to making such critical changes to our country's legislation.

Madam Speaker, it is with great honour that I rise in the House today to speak on behalf of the hard-working people of Elmwood—Transcona. Before I was elected as a member of Parliament, I was a construction electrician for 20 years. I hung up my tools a few days before the election, but I have not left that world behind. To this day, I am proud to serve as the sitting vice-president of the [more]

Madam Speaker, it is very concerning that this is all being brought forward, major environmental changes and labour changes, in the form of an omnibus bill that cannot be debated properly and considered properly.

Madam Speaker, I absolutely agree with my colleague.

Madam Speaker, I do not think it is more of a threat. It is about the Liberals' use of section 107, which has been in place for 40 years. It was not used by previous governments, but over the last two years, it has been used seven or eight times. The issue is not about being more accountable. The issue is that one person gets to decide, and it is not an act of Parliament that would put workers [more]

Mr. Speaker, I think supporting trades in any way that we can, and also supporting building homes, is always a good thing.

Richmond—Arthabaska Mr. Speaker, I would just like to start off by saying I will be sharing my time with the member for. It is with great honour that I rise in the House to speak on behalf of the hard-working folks of Elmwood—Transcona. My speech today will centre on the spring economic statement, with a specific focus on the updates regarding trades and labour. Before becoming a member of [more]

Mr. Speaker, in construction, the first thing businesses do when we enter a recession is stop building. They stop reinvesting, and when business investment declines, so does construction and, in turn, trades jobs, so this is definitely a big concern.

Mr. Speaker, I will be honest. I am a Red Seal electrician. I really do not know anything about pesticides.

Mr. Speaker, it is a crucial part of trades training. As an apprentice, one gets about 300 hours in school and 1,800 hours per level in the field. Without jobs, people are not going to have the 1,800 hours, and they will never complete a Red Seal.

Mr. Speaker, these are all things that are going to be coming, maybe, one day in the future. The spring economic statement, we are debating today. We are talking about tradespeople today, and those tradespeople do not have jobs.

You're talking about how we need $1 billion. How do we make sure that it doesn't get lost in bureaucracy and actually does what it needs to?

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you so much to the witnesses for coming here today. Also, thank you so much for your hard work, day in and day out, to try to make Canada a better place with fewer homeless people. My first question is for Krystyna. You mentioned “hidden homelessness”. Can you explain that? What does that mean?