Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the member on her sincerity in terms of the plight of the disabled in Canada. There are many people in Canada who are in circumstances that do not allow them to participate in the Canada pension plan. I know that the member is very sensitive to the plight of the stay at home mom who spends a great part of the income earning years managing the family home and caring for preschool children and who does not get any benefits. I am sure that the member would agree that consideration should be given to dealing with the issue of unpaid work.
I would like to ask the member a question. She is probably aware that the history of the disability benefit in the Canada pension plan is such that the number of claimants has been substantially larger than was ever anticipated and that the duration of disability benefits has been over a much longer protracted period.
I wonder if the member would concede that notwithstanding the need for disability benefits, the important issue is the pension benefits. The provinces and the federal government agreed in consultations that we should not do anything that would impinge on the security of the pension. Would she agree that it is important to secure the pension benefits first and deal with the disabilities with the best efforts possible?