Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Minister, we know that the objective of this Bill is to try and prevent in a way what the Liberals made us go through with the three elections before the last ones in January 23, 2006. In 1997, Jean Chrétien called general elections in June, 2 1/2 months after the election of Gilles Duceppe as leader of the Bloc québécois. In 2000, Mr. Chrétien used to the same stratagem in calling general elections in November, 5 months after the election of Stockwell Day as leader of the Official Opposition. In 2004, Paul Martin played the same game when he called the elections in June 2004, 3 months after the election of Steven Harper as leader of the Conservative Party.
The Liberals deliberately took advantage of the arrival of new leaders, perhaps because of divisions within their own party, to pull a fast one on us, if I may use that expression. With this Bill, you want to make the process more democratic. Polls tell us that 76% of Canadians and Quebecers agree with the principle of a fixed election date. Here is my first question.
If the Bill is passed, will the Prime Minister still have the power to recommend the dissolution of Parliament at any time before the prescribed date?
Let's take an example. Let's leave aside the fact that we now have a minority government and suppose that we have a Conservative majority government. If the Bill is passed, will Prime Minister Harper still be able to call general elections before October 19, 2009? It's an easy question and you can answer yes or no.