Rob Nicholson at the Justice and Human Rights Committee

I actually believe that the confidence convention is an integral part of our democratic institutions, and I believe that if something is vital to the future of a government or is a vital part of what the government stands for, it is quite appropriate to designate something as a confidence measure. We are all familiar, for instance, with budgets. They are integral to the ability of the government to actually continue. The tradition goes back several hundred years--it was not invented by my government, it's been around a long time--that if you lose control in the lower house, the House of Commons, in most cases you are obliged to go back to the people. All we wanted to do--again, I want to thank you for your support for that bill, and the support of everyone at the report stage--