Seeing such enthusiastic endorsement of my personal views, Mr. Chair, I will continue.
I don't think, Mr. Chair, that any member of this place, whether they be in government or in opposition, would argue the fact that supply days play an important part in our democratic process. There have been times, and history will confirm this, when a motion brought forward on an opposition supply day has proven to be integral to the workings of this Parliament, and in fact has had an effect on government. While it is true that not all motions passed during supply days compel the government to act, there have been examples of when an opposition day motion, or a supply day motion, as it is most commonly known, has had an effect on government legislation. That's when Parliament works best.
Unfortunately, we've also seen the reverse. We've seen where supply days have been used for nothing more than partisan purposes to try to either score cheap political points or to try to embarrass the government of the day. I believe those are the times, Mr. Chair, that prove to be counterproductive in terms of a well-functioning Parliament. They have been counterproductive in the sense that they further entrench the view many Canadians have that Parliament is dysfunctional, that Parliament is too partisan, and that parliamentarians, rather than working on behalf of Canadians, are involved with silly political games and are trying to avoid the real work of Parliament, which is to bring forward legislation that benefits Canadians.
I'll point out an example many of us here certainly recall, and I think most Canadians would recall as well, and that was a recent Liberal supply day motion that dealt with maternal health. During that motion, which was debated and ultimately voted on, the Liberals attempted to box our government into a corner with respect to abortions. They used a supply day motion that was supposed to deal with maternal health, particularly in developing countries, to talk about our government's--