Mr. Speaker, I recall vividly after the election when we first came to this House in January 1994. A party which came from the west promised to do politics differently. Its members promised to take the moral high ground, if you will. They wanted to make this Chamber work more effectively. Sadly, after all this time, we know that is not the case. I want to talk about that. It is important that Canadians who are watching understand the hypocrisy in the House coming from the west and that they have a chance to reflect on it.
The debate on pensions was introduced as an opposition day motion on November 22. At that time, Reform Party whip wanted members of Parliament to be paid $12,000 a month. On top of that he wanted members of Parliament to have a 5 per cent pension contribution matched by the government.
I noticed that since the debate has started once again, it is no longer $12,000 a month that the whip of the Reform Party wants members of Parliament to have. Now it is $150,000 a year which is more than $12,000 a month. It is amazing. If we leave it for another six months, he will be asking for $200,000. I have answered a number of letters about that issue. I have pointed out the hypocrisy of that position.
When I talk about some of the hypocrisies, let me focus on some of the things that have been said by Reform Party members. They said that they oppose any assistance to political parties from public funds, including any refund of candidate or party electoral expenses. Guess what the reality is. They have taken the refund for 50 per cent of eligible campaign expenses estimated to be between $2 million and $3 million.