I will, Mr. Chair. Again, it's just about putting the entire matter into context. If I strayed there a bit, I apologize.
The issue, though, remains that when we have before us pretty straightforward matters and government members—Liberal members, rather—showing themselves to be willing to engage with the opposition, willing to reach a compromise, still we see particularly the Conservative Party holding firm on these points, points that they would not have ever entertained just a few years ago.
It presents a problem, and not just for this committee. I would ask Conservative colleagues to think beyond the here and now, to think about what message they are sending to the citizens they represent and to Canadians, generally speaking. You can't play these sorts of games and get away with it. People will pay attention. They might not be following us on CPAC right now from beginning to end, but they certainly are watching, Mr. Chair. They want their politicians to be clear and focused and straight with them.
I thought it was quite relevant to put into the record quotes that are important for us to think about, quotes from Mr. MacKay and quotes from Mr. Nicholson. There was Mr. Lukiwski, whom I mentioned as well. This was just a few years ago, Mr. Chair. It's not as if I'm reaching back into the annals of parliamentary history and quoting Robert Stanfield or Joe Clark.
By the way, I wonder, if it was still Mr. Stanfield's or Mr. Clark's Conservative Party, what the Conservatives would be after today. Would they still be acting in this way? It's unfortunate that what was a proud Progressive Conservative tradition has morphed into something entirely different, something quite seized with scoring political points to the detriment of Canadian democracy.
I'm a Liberal—and a proud Liberal—but I think there is something to the idea that Robert Stanfield was the best prime minister that Canada never had. I think there is something to the idea that Joe Clark was a tremendous foreign minister for Canada.