Mr. Speaker, I wish to draw to the attention of the House the greatest failing of the government.
When the Prime Minister came to power in 1993, he promised Canadians accountability, integrity and responsibility. Since then, the government has broken its GST promise, mocked the unemployed, botched the Airbus investigation, gagged the Somalia inquiry and stonewalled the tainted blood investigation.
If Canadians, through their House of Commons, are to hold this government accountable for such abuses, they need the tools to do the job. These tools include free votes in this Chamber, unfettered committees, citizens' initiatives, referenda and the power to recall elected officials.
This is the way to fix the system to restore accountability, integrity and trust to our parliamentary institutions.