Mr. Speaker, I have listened to the words of the hon. member from Alberta with considerable interest, as he described Alberta as the bastion of free enterprise. We have been aware of just that, on several occasions, at the time the Act to amend the Interest Act was introduced in order to restrict the banks and financial institutions to a penalty of three months interest when loan capital is paid back before the due date. The Reform Party voted against this.
We also saw the Reform Party oppose an amendment to the Bankruptcy Act, which introduced by a member from the Quebec City region, more precisely the member for Portneuf, my colleague to the right here. What he wanted to do was to put ordinary workers and low income people at the top of the list for collocation of creditors in the case of a bankruptcy, in front of banks, guaranteed creditors and so on. Again, the Reformers voted against this.
This is not the first time the Reform Party has been against anything that could show a little compassion, bring a little relief to the low wage earner, the most disadvantaged of our society. Then, to be really sure to have the upper hand over this group, the Reform Party recently sent one of their gang over to Asia to learn about caning and corporal punishment of offenders.
The hon. member referred to the vacancy rate in Montreal, referring I believe to unoccupied office space. It is true, unfortunately, that it is much more related to the tax policy of the City of Montreal than to the political situation currently prevailing in Quebec or in Canada.
I would like to ask the Alberta member who has just spoken, whether just once, some day, or once in a while, these people could show a glimmer of compassion? I would imagine that, even in Alberta, the bastion of free enterprise, not everyone who lives there, who moves about the province, who eats, sleeps and lives in Alberta, is a millionaire. I assume there are also some people who are less well off, and some who are poor, as there are everywhere, and these people need some compassion.
Would it be betraying their mandate if, for once, during the 35th Legislature, these people showed a bit of compassion for the least well off, the poorest, the disadvantaged, those less gifted to succeed financially? We have never yet had any evidence of this, in two and one half years.
I would ask once again: before taking the irreparable step of voting against the motion by the member for Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, just try to understand the poor, the disadvantaged, those members of our society whose need is greatest.