Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of the member for Winnipeg South. He is correct in pointing out that this is an omnibus bill that covers a lot of territory as far as our social programs are concerned. I agree with him on the idea that we are in the 20th century.
I especially appreciate his comments regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs. We must not put veterans in distress when they have gone to war for this country and especially when next year is the 50th anniversary of the end of the second world war. That is very substantive in this bill.
I would like to try to flesh it out some more. We are all in this place to try to come up with ideas to make the programs and bills that are put before us better and more effective, more efficient. We are all here with that common goal.
He talked about efficiency and how the programs will be more effective, that this technology is a movement that is taking place. I do not think anyone in the House would disagree that it should be done.
The access to information is also something that I can feel very comfortable in supporting with some assurances that it does not go too far. He mentioned several areas. One he briefly mentioned but did not go into too much detail with was the UIC program. If we are to come up with ideas, we should talk about some substantive ideas the member would bring forward that would save the country some money in regard to UIC.
The Reform Party of Canada has stated that this program should be actuarially sound, that it should be a true insurance program that would save the government some $5 billion in delivering the program to its clientele. Whether the member agrees or disagrees with that concept, I would like to hear from him what his specific ideas are that could save the program and save Canadians dollars.