With regard to the initial comment I would say that perhaps the member doth protest too much.
He is saying that he is compassionate and I am sure he is. I still stand and say nowhere in the motion doe I see and never do I hear the words fairness, balance and equality. I am sorry but without those words I do not know how anyone can pretend to be compassionate.
As far as the process goes, perhaps compassion has something to do there as well. Quite frankly to hear the message that Canadians are giving, you have to listen. You have to be patient. You have to recognize that the venue is not one they are particularly familiar with.
Yes, the hon. member is right. There are many people who said: "By golly, cut the deficit and look after the debt but do not touch me". I do not necessarily blame those people because they have only had one year of experience with us. They may still be thinking back to the old government, the government they could not trust and they had to say: "Do not touch me, because I do not trust you for not touching me". We are a little different from that. We do listen.
I suspect the next time we have these prebudget consultations which will be next year, we will hear a lot less of that. We will be better at the process. Canadians will be better prepared to be involved and understand the role that they can and must play.
I think the process was wonderful. It is a step in the right direction. It is an opportunity to give Canadians the governance back to them, to let them be part of this very important thing we call governing.