Mr. Speaker, last Friday, during Oral Question Period, the hon. member for Saint-Jean stated, and I quote: "This may well be question period, but it is certainly not answer period".
The reaction of several of the ministers and members opposite who were in the House at the time was to reply: "You have been in Ottawa for three years but never realized that until today?"
The purpose of Oral Question Period is to request information from the government and make it account for its actions before the House of Commons. It is an important way of controlling democracy in Canada.
When I hear certain ministers boasting about not participating in this democratic process and making a mockery of it, I feel deceived by and disappointed in a government that respects neither the laws and principles of democracy nor, for that matter, the people of Canada and Quebec.