I have read the bill. I could give the Table a copy of the red book. It has more than 200 words in it. Say that a copy of the red book is tabled along with a covering letter. I have provided the 200 words necessary to initiate recall in a riding of an hon. member that got less than 50 per cent of the votes. I am indicating a way in which members who are democratically elected could be turfed out.
How would we measure the performance of a member of Parliament? Perhaps a member of Parliament said something really dumb either here or elsewhere. As a hypothetical situation, say someone said, not that anyone ever would, that this country is too Frenchified or that people have certain south seas tendencies or that people have some other behavioural deficiencies as measured by such an hon. member, were such a member to exist.
What then? Are those grounds to initiate a recall? Let us say a party took a nosedive in the public opinion poll in western Canada. It is a hypothetical proposition, but would it be grounds for initiating a recall?
It certainly could be grounds for recall. After all, they have taken a nosedive in public opinion in western Canada, just as a hypothetical proposition of course. It seems that many people do not want them now and if they do not want them maybe they should be removed from office.
What kind of sense does that make? None. That is why the bill makes no sense.
Mr. Speaker, I have no intention whatsoever of endorsing, voting for or otherwise expressing support for such an initiative. This idea which we can liken to Jean-Jacques Rousseau's belief that there is an omnipresent common will is false. It is especially false in a country as vast as ours. The party opposite compares Canada with Switzerland, a country only slightly larger that the Island of Montreal. This is the kind of comparison it wants to make. If it flies in Switzerland, surely it will fly in Canada, they say. Well, in many respects, this argument does not wash.
Hon. members, in particular those from more remote regions, know full well that what is good for one riding is not necessarily good for another and that what is good for one town in a riding is not necessarily so for another community in the same riding. There is a flaw in the argument that one should always vote as a delegate, instead of exercising some leadership. This approach would not work in a country with many political parties, even if the other criteria were to apply.
Many people are of this opinion. Speaking before a parliamentary committee the other day, Dr. Robert Jackson, a professor at Carleton University, had this to say, and I quote:
"Would introducing recall of MPs, more referenda and decreasing party discipline increase the prestige, especially the functioning of the House of Commons?". The answer is no.
So said Dr. Robert Jackson while testifying before a parliamentary committee.
If members want to gain more esteem in the public's eye, they will accomplish this goal by doing their job, by being vigilant, by assuming leadership, moral or otherwise, when leadership is called for. Heaven knows that in this day and age, what we need is leadership, not people who change their minds every day, or even three or four times a day, on the same issue. That is not the way for this House to gain the respect of Canadians.
I have had the honour of being elected several times to this House, of serving at the provincial and municipal levels and of working in other capacities. I do not know if I will be re-elected, since that is for the people to decide, but I am sure about one thing. We cannot gauge public opinion each morning by sticking our finger out the window to see which way the wind is blowing. That is not the way to provide leadership in Canada. We are providing leadership by setting out a program and by coming to Ottawa to do what is best for the people of Canada, the most beautiful and one of the largest countries in the world, and, according to the UN, the best country in the world in which to live.