Mr. Speaker, earlier an hon. member referred to the duty of the opposition when the opposition looks at legislation such as we have before us today.
I think it is incumbent upon the opposition to give the legislation a thorough vetting. When opposition members come across a clause that they are uncomfortable with, they check it out, consult the stakeholders and find out what the different opinions are on it. After having done that if they are satisfied that the stakeholders do not have any particular problem with it, they should not oppose it for the sake of opposing it.
I point out to the members in the Bloc that although the Government of Quebec was invited to come before the HRD committee to talk about this, it did not. It is comfortable apparently with this particular clause of the bill. It has the ability of course and has taken advantage of the ability to opt out of the previous act and presumably this one as well.
It is very important that the opposition picks its time and place to make a big deal about these things. But to cry wolf too often only guarantees that you will have no audience when it is really important.
I was very suspicious throughout the meetings that we had with respect to this bill about some of the intentions of the government. I wanted to ensure that the provinces' rights were not being tampered with, that they were not being infringed upon.
In looking at it, after talking to all the people involved, talking to the ministers' departments and their officials, they do not have concerns.
I do not understand why we are even talking about this, given that even the Government of Quebec does not seem to have any concerns.
In the interests of expediency, I would hope that we will defeat this motion.