Excise Tax Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-270, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (school supplies). Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to introduce in both official languages a bill to amend the Excise Tax Act to exempt school supplies from the GST. The bill seeks to promote children’s success in school, provide financial assistance to families during the back-to-school season, and encourage students to pursue their studies.

Black History Month  Madam Speaker, 25 years ago, the hon. Jean Augustine moved a motion to make February Black History Month. This year also marks the 75th anniversary of Viola Desmond's challenge of racial segregation. Less than a year ago, George Floyd was tragically killed. Since then, the Canadian government has brought in numerous programs to support the Black community, including young people, women, entrepreneurs and organizations run by Black people.

Diversity and Inclusion  Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 25th anniversary of the designation of February as Black History Month, thanks to a motion moved by the Hon. Jean Augustine in this Parliament. This is a month to celebrate, remember and recognize the many contributions made by Black people and what they have accomplished here in Canada.

Christmas Greetings  Mr. Speaker, since March 2020, we have been confronted with an unprecedented pandemic that is affecting millions of people around the world. In spite of everything, we have proven to be strong and resilient in the face of this crisis. There is no other way to say it: 2020 has not been an easy year.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages in relation to the motion adopted on Tuesday, November 24 regarding the modernization of the Official Languages Act.

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, this week the government launched calls for proposals for three programs: the Black entrepreneurship program; the community support, multiculturalism, and anti-racism initiatives program; and the supporting Black Canadian communities initiative. I am pleased that my government has introduced these measures to help Black communities in particular combat discrimination.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, in accordance with the orders of reference of Monday, April 20, 2020, and Wednesday, September 30, 2020, concerning the main estimates 2020-21.

Montreal Island North Health and Social Services Centre  Madam Speaker, today I rise in the House to acknowledge the work done by the Montreal Island North Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux, the CIUSSS, since COVID-19 broke out in Montreal North, the epicentre of the pandemic. I am especially proud of the accomplishments of the school testing, early childhood intervention and communications teams, as well as those of community organizations, and of the work they continue to do.

Bourassa Youth  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the House to speak about the youth in my riding of Bourassa. We know that our youth are the present and future of our country. Our role as adults is to support their development and growth as citizens. Today, I want to congratulate present and former students of École Henri-Bourassa, the school I attended in my youth.

Government Programs  Mr. Speaker, the government acknowledges that a long history of racism, discrimination and prejudice against Black people has had a serious impact on these communities. Business communities rely on informal support systems or family members, friends and other Black business owners for help.

Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to answer my colleague's question. In the second part of the Speech from the Throne, we talk about the economy. Among the measures we are taking, we will create one million jobs across Canada. As my colleague points out, we said that the Canada emergency wage subsidy would be extended until next summer, as it has proven to be beneficial.

Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. This is an issue that affects her personally. The Speech from the Throne clearly acknowledges how much women have been affected by the pandemic. We have taken a number of measures that have benefited women, such as the Canada emergency response benefit, among others.

Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. In his question he refers to sustainable measures. We just delivered the throne speech, which sets out our vision and the direction we plan to take over the next few years. What more does he want in terms of sustainable measures?

Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her moving intervention. I invite her to work with the government to continue developing measures aimed at helping indigenous communities. We have two ministers addressing this issue. Going off the speech I just read, I would remind my colleague that we are going to take a number of measures in response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls' calls for justice.

Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. He was here to hear the Speech from the Throne. He is talking about health. We have taken numerous measures to support Canadians across the country. We recently rolled out the COVID Alert app, which several provinces are using.