Madam Speaker, I listened to what my colleague had to say. I will make a few comments and perhaps raise a few questions.
He indicated that his party did not advocate any perks. I have been told-I believe he has read the same documentation-that there are some members of his party who fly executive class. Perhaps he would like to comment on that.
At one time it was said that members of the Reform Party would not go to the parliamentary restaurant and some do not; some Liberals do not either. That is supposedly a perk yet he has said no perks.
It was not long ago that the leader of his party returned a used vehicle he was entitled to after which he received many photo ops. It was discovered shortly thereafter that on the side he was getting approximately $30,000 from his party in order to help buy his suits, shirts, ties and whatever else he needed. I am told he did not pay taxes on it either. It may have been for some other purpose, but it was over $30,000. I do not get it. I would not take it. I am surprised with his kind of rhetoric that he would have.
I have been told about something which I find to be a perk. During the election someone on a disability pension ran for political office. Well, I do not know if that is contradictory or not.
I recall during the MP pension debate there was some discussion which made all the national news. A very prominent Reform member indicated that the salaries of MPs should be doubled. If we add up the costs I can assure the House it would cost a lot more than what is in place right now. I know I am telling the truth because I can see their blood pressures rising. One member is about to fall out of his chair.
With respect to the budget that was touted before, I recall the Reform Party numbers did not add up. I looked through all the newspapers in Canada to see if one single, influential, credible person would say anything positive about that budget. I did not see one single line, not one single word.
If we look at the polls today, of course they change. They go up and down.