Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise to speak on this private member's bill. I would like to congratulate my friend from Hamilton-Wentworth for putting it before the House.
This is a bill which I do not think the Reform Party would have any problem supporting. It is about two things which we feel very strongly about, accountability and public disclosure.
We all have made contributions to non-profit groups and to charities and I am sure that all of us at times have wondered just what percentage of our dollars actually goes to the cause, which was mentioned by the previous speaker. How much of it goes to the cause and how much of it goes to administration and bureaucracy? This bill will go a long way in allaying some of our fears. There is nothing like information to put one's mind at rest. Certainly speculation and fear of the unknown are things which lead to more and more speculation.
While we are talking about accountability and public disclosure, I note that the previous speaker mentioned the pension plan. It was my understanding that there was great difficulty trying to get the record of who had received parliamentary pensions in the past, the amounts and also the amounts which were put in by the member and the amounts which were paid by the taxpayer. Perhaps a companion bill sometime down the road, along the lines of public disclosure and accountability for publicly paid pension plans, would be a great idea as well.
I have to make apologies to my research assistant, who actually wrote two speeches for me today, but I am using neither of them. I send my apologies to him.