Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak on the very important topic of the power of Parliament to control public spending.
The Constitution Act, 1867, stipulates that all financial legislation including government expenditures must originate in the House of Commons. Standing Order 80(1) states:
All aids and supplies granted to-the Parliament of Canada are the sole gift of the House of Commons, and all bills for granting such aids and supplies ought to begin in the House, as it is the undoubted right of the House to direct, limit, and appoint in all such bills,
This brings about an interesting question I should like to ask colleagues on both sides of the House. When was the last time as elected representatives of the people of Canada were they able to direct or limit spending in the country? It is an interesting question. Perhaps we could investigate it further.
When was the last time a bureaucrat or a cabinet minister came to a member of the House and asked for help in figuring out what tax dollars could be spent on? When was the last time members of the House other than cabinet members were able to make a choice and say no to one project and yes to another? It is our right in the House under the Constitution.
Let us look at the problems we have had with the estimates. The Prime Minister says that it is confidence: "You have to vote for it. Hold your nose. No questions allowed. Otherwise the government will fail". That type of arm wrestling should not be tolerated by members of the House elected to ensure that Parliament controls the public purse. This House, not the government, controls the spending and the raising of taxes in this country. You would hardly think so on many occasions.
Unfortunately, as I have indicated, seldom is the answer that we can influence or reduce public spending but never has this government trusted us enough to allow us to do our job, which is to represent the will of Canadians and to make the choices on how the government spends tax dollars. What I am trying to point out is there is a clear, complete and absolute separation between this House and the government for this House approves and gives to the government money for it to spend.
Over the last 100 years in Canada the power to control government spending has moved farther and farther away from Parliament. The executive power over the public purse has been expanded. Cabinet and senior civil servants have slowly but surely increased their ability to control what money is spent, where it is spent and why it is spent.
This concentration of power over the tax dollars is wrong. It goes against everything that democracy stands for. Perhaps the ultimate manifestation of the Prime Minister and cabinet's control over our tax dollars lies in the use of Governor General special warrants which the member for Kingston and the Islands has introduced his private members' bill to curtail.
When Parliament is not in session and there is an urgent need for funds, the Financial Administration Act allows for a special warrant in the name of the Governor General to be prepared. We are talking about an urgent need for funds, not a convenient need for funds without recalling the House. There must be a clear and separate difference between the two.
It is not for government to end run Parliament if it finds it inconvenient and it would rather not bring us back here and request us to donate and give to it and it uses the special warrants to circumvent Parliament's authority. In theory the special warrants are to be issued when some unforeseen need arises and Parliament cannot be recalled to deal with the issue. Certainly in the case of war, famine or in an emergency situation the government must not be left without recourse to funding. I think we all agree with that.
History tells us that special warrants are often used as a way to circumvent Parliament. In 1989, as my hon. colleague from Kingston and the Islands pointed out, the Conservative government issued four special warrants to obtain regular appropriations rather than use the supplementary estimates. At the time the House was adjourned and not prorogued.
Special warrant, as we pointed out, is essentially decreed by the Prime Minister's office. It gives the government power to take money from the consolidated revenue fund and use it for whatever reason it so desires. After the special warrant has been issued, there is nothing Parliament can do to recapture the money. Nothing. No checks and balances apply to a special warrant. Clearly the restrictions on the use of the Governor General special warrants need to be tightened.
The role of Parliament in spending tax dollars is crucial. Legally it is Parliament and only Parliament that can approve the spending by appropriating funds. Often this fact is overlooked or explained away by ministers and their officials but it is paramount to a democratic system. Canadians go to the polls every four or five
years because they want to influence the future of our nation, yet the people they elect to express their will have very little input into how decisions are made and even the approval of these decisions. Their input is silenced, avoided or limited.
This bill would be a step in the right direction. It is a direction the Reform Party has been talking about for years. The Reform Party wants to reverse the centralization trend. Reformers want Parliament to exercise its power to control government spending right from the start. This bill reinforces the power of democratically elected representatives. It is an important bill because it enhances accountability in government. It is an important bill because it reinforces the Reform Party principle of accountable government.
The issues addressed in this bill are issues the Reform Party has always been concerned about. Reformers believe that elected representatives should have the final say in government expenditures. We believe in the common sense of the common people and their right to be consulted when we spend their money. Our constituents have a right to directly influence spending. The Reform Party, when it forms a government, will enhance this right. I can see my colleague from Kingston and the Islands is already starting the process.
Raising and spending tax dollars is the lifeblood of Parliament. It is the reason Parliament came about. Reform members take this responsibility seriously. When we spend money and approve expenditures of money in this House, we should all remember that tax dollars are funds held in trust by Parliament and are given to the government to provide services to Canadians.
I support the bill. The Reform Party supports the bill. It will enhance the accountability of Parliament. It will help to remind the executive that the people of Canada still control government expenditures.
There is also a subcommittee of the procedure and House affairs committee, of which I have the privilege to be a member, which deals with the whole business of supply and accountability. I hope we will see in this 35th Parliament a return of powers back to the House which have been allowed to slip away into the hands of the executive, into the hands of cabinet, into the hands of government. They have taken the liberty of expecting us to rubber stamp their initiatives and their requests for money. That has to stop.
I am glad to see this issue being recognized by individual members on the government side through this private members' bill and through the creation of the subcommittee of the procedure and House affairs committee which was formed a year ago. The subcommittee has been doing valuable work. Let us not forget that the subcommittee was formed at the instigation of the Reform Party. The only reason the subcommittee was formed a year ago was that we created enough noise about the approval of the estimates saying that we needed more input.
Canadians and their elected officials need more input into how the House approves money. The House is not a rubber stamp. That message has to be put forth forcefully and clearly in order for this government, the next government and every government thereafter to realize the primacy of this House. We, as the elected representatives of Canadians, are the people who approve the expenditures of government. They are to be held accountable.
Therefore, as I mentioned earlier, I heartily congratulate the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands for bringing forth this private members' bill which will curtail special warrants being issued by the government. Those special warrants circumvent the House. They prevent the House from expressing its democratic opinion on what the government intends to do. The bill will ensure that the House regains responsibility and its primacy over the spending of funds.