Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-55.
The efforts of the justice minister, the champion of the social engineers on that side of the House, are probably a little better than they have been in any bill that I have seen in the last three years.
However, as usual there are some things in there that have to be fixed, there are flaws and there are some changes that need to be made. Hopefully we will be able to see that accomplished at the committee meetings.
The sad part about it and the fear that I have is that behind closed doors in the justice department there are decisions already being made as to what can be or what will be allowed with regard to this bill. We have seen it happen before to bills coming from the committees.
If this justice minister says there will be no amendments to this bill, and he says it to the members of his caucus who serve on that committee, that is the way it will be regardless of the debate,
regardless of the discussion and regardless of the witnesses. I have seen that happen and unfortunately it is going to happen again in my view.
This bill is need of amendments but the dictatorship of this government has already indicated it will not be changed. Decisions are made behind closed doors and then all the members of the party, the justice minister, the social engineer, will be required to rise in their seats and vote according to what he says. That seems to be the democratic process, and I use that term loosely. This government does not seem to understand the democratic process.
What a great thing it would be for Canadian people if democracy truly existed when it comes to making decisions on behalf of Canadian people. We could back up a few years, during the time of Trudeau, when people expressed loud and clear things they wanted and things they did not. The voices were being heard. They tried to participate.
I remember when they brought in the metric system there was quite a outcry. People did not want it but it did not matter. The people in this place do better. So we got the metric system anyway whether you wanted it or not as a Canadian.
I remember the language laws coming in and the great debates that took place across the country. The debates had no play. It is what this government wanted to do.
I remember the GST. There could not have been more resounding voices in the land by the people saying no to the GST, but they got it anyway because the little dictators who sit in this place made the decision and that is the way it is going to be.
That is just the way it was through the Trudeau years, that is the way it was through the Mulroney years and that is the way it has been during this session. Decisions are made behind closed doors and the government will do that whether you like it or not.
I talked to a number of backbenchers who have said that they would like to vote against a bill but they do not dare. Or they would like to vote against this bill but they do not dare because in the Liberal Party you are punished if you do not do as you are told.