Mr. Speaker, I will not take long on this point of order, but I want to address the concerns raised in the point of order by the hon. minister.
I express first of all my sincere concern that this legislation will not be given the proper attention that I think it deserves in the House of Commons.
As hon. members well know, parliament evolved out of the Westminster model of parliamentary government. There are three very important actors in this model, the government, the House of Commons and the electorate.
As our brief but colourful history as a nation has progressed, two basic principles have emerged that govern the relationship between the government, the parliament and the electorate. These principles are a responsible and representative parliamentary government. Responsibility and representation is what we have known for the life of this nation. We have a responsible cabinet. We have a representative parliament.
A responsible and representative parliament performs very important functions. Parliamentarians deliberate, investigate and legislate items that come under their purview. The upper and lower chambers that compose the Parliament of Canada share these roles. Parliamentarians deliberate. We look at issues and try to decide if these issues are worthy of debate, worthy of change or whether the issues raised are worth our attention at all. We use our collective judgment to decide what work gets done
Parliamentarians investigate. We have investigated many issues that relate to smoking. We investigate many issues that often result in the creation of laws. We legislate. We have been given the honour to create laws, to be the ones who make decisions that affect the welfare of all Canadians, our youth included.
Mr. Speaker, I am not here to tell you whether this bill or should not be passed. I am here simply to say to you that this bill deserves to be fully scrutinized by the traditional mechanisms of our parliamentary system.
I believe Bill S-13 deserves the attention and the process that it and many other bills in the history of this nation have received. Let us give this bill the attention it deserves and let the members of this Chamber do their jobs and decide whether it deserves second reading.