Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, the mighty OGGO, entitled “Appointment of the Parliamentary Budget Officer”.

This report is important for two reasons. First of all, it is a recommendation from the committee that the government appoint Jason Jacques as the permanent Parliamentary Budget Officer for a term of seven years. This recommendation is important because Mr. Jacques's office was recently named by the OECD as the top Parliamentary Budget Office in the world. Additionally, Parliament is without a Parliamentary Budget Officer right now, which means there are no reports coming from the office on the estimates or any other process. This would increase transparency and accountability in this House.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present petition e-6974.

I want to recognize my constituent TJ Hagarty from Fernie, British Columbia, for his dedication in bringing forward this important issue. Mr. Hagarty's family experienced a significant hardship when they were unable to transfer their son's medical care to Alberta rather than Vancouver due to limitations of the current system.

I am proud to present this petition, which has gathered more than 2,500 signatures from residents across my riding. Since elected in 2019, I have worked hard to support constituents within our health care system. It is my responsibility on their behalf to bring this to the attention of the House of Commons.

Petitioners call on the Government of Canada to work with the provinces to address the barriers in accessing care across provincial boundaries.

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today on behalf of the 157,057 Canadians who have signed the historic charter of health freedom petition, one of the largest paper petitions in Canadian history, initiated by the Natural Health Product Protection Association.

Parliament has a duty to respond to a petition of this magnitude, one driven by grassroots, everyday people who want rights that guarantee their freedom to make informed choices about their own health. These rights include the right of every person to sovereignty over their own body, the right to choose how to prevent illnesses or address illness and injury, the right to access treatment options without unnecessary government restrictions, the right to make their own health decisions without undue interference from the state, respect for the constitutional role of the provinces in health care and recognition of the sovereign right of first nations people to practise their traditional medicines.

The charter of health freedom calls for a new legislative framework recognizing natural health products and traditional medicines in their own category, rather than treating them as therapeutic drugs under the Food and Drugs Act.

Canadians deserve a system that protects safety while respecting their ability to care for their own health, and after over 157,000 voices have spoken, now is the time for action for the health freedom of Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table two petitions in the House.

The first is from citizens who are concerned about the misuse of generative AI, which has led to a rise in disinformation due to deepfakes, or falsely generated videos or images of a person's likeness. AI tools have developed to a point where it is difficult for the most people to determine the authenticity of a video, audio or image source, and AI tools can be used maliciously.

These citizens call upon the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation to acknowledge the risks posed by deepfakes, strengthen the Canadian Copyright Act to include an individual's right to their own body and voice, and ensure enforcement mechanisms are in place at a federal level to support individuals' rights to their likeness.

Mr. Speaker, the second petition highlights that, following the genocide in Gaza, Canada has not yet sanctioned any entities for their activities in Gaza and that, according to the United Nations, Israel's latest military campaign has damaged or destroyed 92% of housing units in the Gaza Strip.

These citizens call upon the government to investigate and sanction individuals and entities involved in serious violations of international law across the occupied Palestinian territory, including the systematic destruction of civilian property, and to impose sanctions upon key individuals and entities involved in the demolition of property and civilian objects in Gaza.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition brought by constituents from across Canada who are concerned about Bill C-9. They are concerned that this bill could be used to criminalize passages from the Bible, the Quran or the Torah. They call on the Government of Canada not to pass this bill. They want to ensure that the Government of Canada protects religious freedom, upholds the right to read and share sacred texts, and prevents government overreach in this matter.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present a petition on behalf of residents of Fairhaven, Meadowgreen, Parkridge and Confederation in Saskatoon, who are all concerned about the significant challenges they are facing because of crime, chaos and disorder in their neighbourhoods. They are concerned about the drug use and homelessness that have overrun their neighbourhoods, making public area schools and even private backyards unsafe. Of course, safe supply and harm reduction programs paid for by the federal government have prolonged and encouraged drug use instead of offering treatment.

The petitioners are asking for the government to bring back mandatory minimums for the trafficking, importing and production of illegal narcotics, which were removed in Bill C-5. They want to end the dangerous safe supply experiments that have lowered the cost and increased the supply of narcotics on the street and, most importantly, they want to invest in real treatment for drug users, such as rehabilitation beds, that encourage people to get off drugs.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of constituents of Saanich—Gulf Islands on an issue that remains one that I know many members of this place would agree is a national crisis, and that is that we continue to see far too many deaths from opioids, by what are essentially fentanyl poisonings.

I want to particularly pay tribute to one of my constituents, Leslie McBain, who lost her son in that crisis and is one of the founders of an extraordinary group of bereaved parents called Moms Stop the Harm. The petitioners are asking the government to consider that it is ineffective to treat those suffering from drug abuse as criminals. They are people in need of medical assistance and mental health supports to help deal with addiction. In other words, incarceration and treating this as a criminal matter has been ineffective, and rehabilitation through treatment programs is urgently needed.

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf of residents in my community on Liberal Bill C-9, in particular the Liberal and Bloc amendment to Bill C-9 passed at the justice committee that would remove long-standing protections for the good-faith expression of religious beliefs and the citing of religious texts. That amendment would subject people who read the Bible, the Torah or other religious texts to potential criminal prosecution.

Therefore, residents in my riding are calling on the government to do two things: one, withdraw Bill C-9; and, two, protect religious freedom, uphold the right to read and share sacred texts, and prevent government intrusion into matters of faith.

An hon. member: Oh, oh!

We must continue with Routine Proceedings, and we cannot do that if the hon. member is engaging with a member of the opposition. Order, please.

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Speaker: To the hon. member for London West, I have heard some unparliamentary terms, which I will let go at this particular time.