The next one says, “It is unconscionable that you and your party are ramming through a motion at committee to try to close the House of Commons on Fridays and to limit debate at the committee level or in the House. Shame on all of you. You will be gone after this term anyway, but in the meantime, know that the Liberal Party is a joke.” That's strong. “You don't represent real Canadians; you represent yourselves. You are as out of touch as ever, and to think that what you are doing is somehow fair or just is asinine. How do you sleep at night? Do the right thing and quit while you're behind. Put this nonsense to rest.”
Those are some pretty strong words, but that's what they feel. People are concerned about these changes.
It continues, “Dear members of Parliament, I do not support the changes you are proposing to the shutting down of Parliament on Fridays, limiting Justin Trudeau's appearances in the House of Commons, or changes to the rules governing debate. This is a sneaky way to limit accountability. In the election, you promised to be accountable to Canadians. I voted for the Liberals, but if these changes are made, you will lose a vote.”
That's short and to the point, saying that they don't agree with shutting down Parliament on Fridays. They don't agree with limiting the amount of time that Justin Trudeau has to be in the House of Commons to be held accountable. They don't agree with changes to rules that would change the way debates work in committees. They are saying this is “a sneaky way to limit accountability”. They are saying that they voted for the Liberals in the last election, but if the Liberals make these changes, there's no way they would do it again. I've read that a number of times. All members of Parliament know that when you get a letter, it represents a lot of other constituents. Think about the number of these that I've read. This could be a very significant thing for them to be paying attention to, if they wanted to ensure their chances in the next election.
The subject line of the next one is “What is happening to our democracy?” It is signed by a number of members of one of the Liberal MPs' constituencies. It says, “Dear member of Parliament, I am writing this email to express my great concern over the Liberal move to hijack our democracy through the proposed changes to House of Commons rules. I also believe that giving Parliament an extra day off is irresponsible and a misuse of our tax dollars. The Liberals campaigned on real change and transparency but have delivered nothing but chaos and lack of accountability. I just believe that you have to work for the benefit of this country and all Canadians, not to the benefit of the Prime Minister. After all, that's what you were elected to do. Please stand up for Canadians by refusing to support these changes.”
Again, there is the theme of being here to represent Canadians, not to work for the Prime Minister. Being here to work for Canadians is a common theme that people are trying to get through to the Liberal Party here.
Here is one signed by a number of people from Ontario—Waterloo, Toronto, St. Catharines, Stayner, St. Clements, Kitchener, and Ottawa—as well as Westmount, Quebec. There are a number of people here from all across Ontario, and into Quebec as well. It says, “Dear members of Parliament, we are outraged that the Liberal government is planning to reform the Standing Orders of the House of Commons and considering eliminating Friday sittings. The Prime Minister continually talks about being open and transparent, but we haven't seen much evidence of that. He needs to be accountable to Canadians and the House of Commons more than once a week. The Prime Minister's job is not a part-time position. Please let the Prime Minister know that we are not in favour of making these changes, absolutely not in favour of shutting down Parliament on Fridays, and strongly disagree with limiting debate in the House of Commons, a cornerstone of our democracy. Let him demonstrate to us that he really listens to Canadians. While many Canadians are without jobs, and some working two jobs, the Prime Minister spends $127,000 on his Christmas vacation. I just heard a report that only 400,000 Canadians make more than $100,000 a year before tax. We will not forget who supported these plans and the budget.”
Again, this is someone who is saying that Prime Minister Trudeau “talks about being open and transparent”, but they've never seen any evidence of it. It's saying that he can certainly talk the talk, but why doesn't he start walking the walk? It is a very good point.
I'll conclude here. I have hundreds more of these emails, but I'm going to stop here for today. I'll just read one last email. It says, “I am appalled to hear of the goings-on in Parliament currently, and in such an underhanded way. For a government who claims to be more open and transparent, you go about doing the exact opposite. As MPs you are all elected to represent the people's interest, not Justin Trudeau's. Why should Parliament and Justin Trudeau not work on Fridays? Why should Justin Trudeau not be available at question period more often? (As it is, he's seldom there.)
“Why is this bill being put forward by backbencher MPs in the backroom? Why are you doing Justin Trudeau's dirty work? Why is this not being discussed in the House of Commons so people can be aware of it and have a say in how they are governed?
“I would like to add that this is not a partisan issue. Every government needs to be held accountable. (You might not be the next government, and they would have to also be accountable.)
“Why is this being done on budget day? Again, trying to slip through the cracks, which has become a Liberal way of doing business. This is closer to being a dictatorship rather than a democracy. As elected MPs, you should be doing more for the people who elected you. Absolutely nothing Justin Trudeau has done has been for the benefit of the Canadian people. In fact, everything he has done and is doing is blatantly detrimental to the people who elected you. If you will open your eyes and even do some cursory investigation, only Justin Trudeau personally and his close Liberal insiders are the ones who are directly benefiting from his actions to date. Please do the right thing for all Canadians, not just the few.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
I guess, with that, one can only hope that the Liberal government is paying attention to this matter and is understanding that what they're doing will limit the ability of Canadians to hold their government accountable, and that they will think better of it and realize that this is just not happening. This is just not right, and they should change their course and allow for there to be proper accountability in the House of Commons and in committees to hold this government to account.
Obviously, there are a lot of people here who have expressed a lot of frustration with Justin Trudeau and the way he's governing this country. They deserve a right to have those concerns aired. They have a right to have answers to their questions. They have a right to see this government truly make any kind of an effort to show themselves to be accountable.
With that, I'll yield the floor, Mr. Chair.