“This bill changes the tax on alcohol, but it leaves out makers of berry and maple spirits. The government already gave tax breaks to mead and cider makers. Leaving out berry spirit makers hurts local businesses. Does my colleague agree the government is making a mistake?”

“Mr. Speaker, I have a very important question for my colleague about the government’s amendments to the Excise Tax Act under Bill C-31. We have noticed that none of those amendments address the inequity and injustice between producers of mead and producers of blueberry spirits. A few years ago, the Bloc Québécois persuaded the government to exempt small local and regional producers from the excise tax so that they could make a living from their production. The government granted an exemption to mead and apple cider producers, but it did not grant the same exemption to producers of berry-based or maple spirits. Does my colleague think that the government is making a mistake? By refusing to exempt producers of berry-based spirits from the excise tax, it is limiting the economic development of our regions.”

“This bill gives the government more power and makes it less open. It limits who can complain about how the government buys things. I want to know if my colleague really thinks this is good for government transparency.”

“Madam Speaker, this bill is more than 300 pages long and contains many questionable amendments and provisions. Among other things, there are measures that expand the government’s powers and reduce transparency. There are measures that limit who can file a complaint with the procurement ombudsman and what types of complaints the ombudsman can review. Given that procurement, especially military procurement, is set to become increasingly important, does my colleague welcome this type of measure from a transparency perspective?”

“I want to know what time Private Members' Business will start today, since our schedule was changed.”

“Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As you know, today’s schedule has been disrupted, albeit in a positive way, by the arrival of the Olympic and Paralympic athletes we welcomed earlier. In light of that, I would like to ask you to confirm what time the consideration of Private Members’ Business will begin.”