Even if Mr. Saxton says that this is a declaratory aspect, in the sense that Parliament's intention is declared, I think it is completely useless and insulting. The government made its decision when it made the appointment and, as Mr. Brison said, I don't think it entails judging Mr. Nadon's experience as a newly appointed Supreme Court justice. The problem has more to do with the process and the government's lack of rigour. The government failed to ensure that the appointment would not cause any particular problems for Quebec or that the measure would not lead to the kind of recourse we're seeing now. The government was completely negligent in this situation.
Using a budget bill to try to hastily address a gross error involving one of the government's greatest responsibilities, namely, the appointment of Supreme Court justices, is something I can only condemn and deplore. We voted against Mr. Brison's amendments, and not entirely because of their relevance. It was more because we would not want to be complicit in an action that flies in the face of a good governmental process.
I sincerely believe that the government made a mistake. It was a mistake to include this measure in a budget bill and not consult Quebec in any way when objections were raised. I think the government will soon see that this measure will in no way affect the current process and that the problems in the appointment and the problems that ensued will continue to haunt the government.
With that in mind, we will continue to vote no, while reiterating our concern about the steps the government has taken in this matter.