Mr. Speaker, in the next few days I will be reintroducing in the House my private member's bill to create a federal intervenor funding act for Canada.
Intervenor funding as I have proposed it allows all Canadians to have an opportunity to have a direct voice in government decision making. Too often, hearings in front of federal boards and agencies have been dominated by those wealthy enough to hire expert witnesses. What of the other Canadians who are left in the cold by a lack of funds to represent their legitimate concerns? They often go unheard.
Every voice that is left silent is a voice that is being excluded. If we really mean that we want to give our constituents a voice to allow them to be heard in the public interest, then I ask all members on both sides of the House to support a federal intervenor funding program.