Mr. Speaker, it is with mixed feelings that I stand at this time of the day to debate this bill because we need to have an opportunity not only to debate it in this House, not only to have experts who look at the many ramifications of the hundred pages of legislative change, but we should also have an opportunity to take it to the people back home whom we have been elected to represent.
It is devastating for me to find that my role as a parliamentarian is being limited by a government that again thinks it knows everything and that it cannot make a mistake. That is what is presumed here. If it puts forward a motion and says that it wants it all finished today I would hope that what it is saying is that there is no error in this legislation, that there is nothing that can be made better for the people of Canada, that it is a perfect piece of legislation, so let us just get it on the way.
I would have to concede that there would come occasions where there is a small technical change to be made where that may be the truth, but we do not know that. As my colleague from Calgary indicated, that was the assumption made a couple of years ago when the legislation was passed that we are now trying to undo.
How can the government carry on with this premise? I am insulted by it and I am hurt by it. Our respect for the parliamentary process and for this institution is being reduced. We have an obligation to maintain the integrity of it.
I feel so strongly that not only myself but also the members on the other side—we call them affectionately the Liberal or the government backbenchers, those who do not have a say in government—all have an obligation to provide scrutiny to these bills. These things have a tremendous impact on our society, on the citizens of this country, on the taxpayers of this country. For the backbenchers to go along with this charade and to say “No, we are willing to abdicate our responsibility and not provide that scrutiny” I think puts them also in dereliction of duty.
It is incredible to think that the ministers who sit in the front rows really do know everything. If that is really true then perhaps we ought to save the taxpayers a lot of money and just have a 20 seat Parliament and let them run it. We can just call it a cabinet and let them run the show. Let us call it what it is, an elected dictatorship between elections. That is what it boils down to.
I would like to see those backbenchers on the other side—what term do I use now. It was going to be a four letter word that starts with g and ends with ts but I cannot use that. I wish they had the internal fortitude to actually stand up and say “I'm sent here to represent the people who elected me” and to stand up against the front bench of their party when they pull these kinds of shenanigans. This is really despicable.
One of the greatest concerns we have in our ridings, at least I am hearing in my riding, is the concern of seniors with respect to their personal financial security. It is being eroded big time. They plan for their future and for their retirement given certain parameters. Now those parameters are being changed rapidly and they do not have an opportunity to make adjustments to their earnings, to their savings plans. Certainly they cannot anticipate all of the different and additional taxation rules that the government is giving to them.
It behoves us as members to show some genuine concern for the seniors in our society, those who are most affected by changes in these rules, those whose very continued livelihood depends on their financial security.
We ought to show a great amount of scrutiny and care when we propose to change bills. This is an affront to us. I am ashamed members opposite are going along with this kind of a charade and still claiming they won the election and can do whatever they want. That is not good enough.
The people of Canada will rise up and revolt against this kind of a government. They will say “Enough of this. We want a true representational government. We want a government where MPs are sent to Ottawa to represent the people”. They should take their voting orders from the people who elected them and not from their party bosses who think they know everything and will not even contemplate that perhaps one of their bills or motions should be subject to amendment, improvement or perhaps even defeat.
It is time that happens. I invite Canadians everywhere to wake up to what is happening in this place. It is a sham and it is a shame.