Mr. Speaker, the House should know that the most vocal bellower from the Reform Party is one who was professionally engaged as a political saboteur in the United States and was a disgrace not only to that country but to this country. Here he continues with the same kind of conduct, preferring obfuscation, preferring abuse, preferring diversion rather than dealing with the real substance.
I was talking about the amendment I proposed yesterday, an amendment to which members of the opposition said no. They denied the clear opportunity to make that change. The government offered and the opposition refused even to let it come to a vote.
Again I ask the question what does that tell us. Are members of the opposition really interested in constructive change? Are they really interested in the substance of the matter? Or, are they only interested, as their conduct demonstrates in the House today, in playing partisan politics with the livelihoods of farmers?
Their conduct speaks for itself. They prevented the House from even having a chance to vote on a provision which would have ensured that farmers had the right to vote on fundamental changes to their marketing system. The opposition clearly has a problem with democracy.
Tonight, at long last, Bill C-4 will come to a vote at third reading. Its passage will signal an era of change for the future. Its major themes are democracy, accountability, flexibility and empowerment for farmers.
Farmers will take control. They will have it within their authority to shape their marketing agency as they see fit. I have complete confidence in the judgment of producers to exercise their new authority with strength, wisdom and prudence to the greater and greater success of the prairie farm economy and prairie farmers most especially.