Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate my colleague, who introduced this motion in the House. I think it important to emphasize all the effort that goes into introducing a motion. You will understand, however, that I am not necessarily congratulating his party. I will come back to this in a few moments.
I would like to commend the parliamentary secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House, as well as our colleagues in the Bloc Quebecois and the New Democratic Party, on the quality of their speeches.
If it has done no more than clarify certain important principles, I think this motion was important. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on our role as parliamentarians, on the principle on which our fellow citizens rely and on which our work must be based if it is to meet the expectations of the public.
I am, nonetheless, a bit surprised at this motion, which alludes, among other things, to the formal disappearance of vote pairing and, obviously, to proxy voting. It is a bit worrisome to recall, but sometimes it is important, that, during the last election campaign, the Reform Party wanted to see the seven million Quebeckers and the eight and a half million French Canadians across the country all but unrepresented in the House. They practically wanted to exclude Quebeckers and French Canadians from the Parliament of Canada.
When there are suggestions such as this one about voting by proxy, we are aware that there are some things in life not properly done without direct contact with our colleagues, those within our own party first of all and then comments from MPs in other parties. A vote in the House of Commons represents a rather special dynamic.
There must be reflection. There must be exchanges with our colleagues. In our caucus meetings I am glad to be able to exchange views with my Newfoundland colleague, a former minister in the Peckford cabinet, who makes a huge contribution on certain specific issues, particularly natural resources, fisheries in particular.
Our Reform Party colleague must realize that the formula we have at the present time, of having an official register of paired members, is a very acceptable formula. If there is one important privilege for Members of Parliament, it is their attachment to their personal vote. The MPs' votes are not the responsibility of the whip, the party leader, or the Speaker of the House.
Members of Parliament must endeavour to be present here in the Parliament of Canada, both for the official vote and for all the proceedings leading to it. A vote is not carried out without reflection, without exchanges with our colleagues.
Huge progress has been made in this House in the past 15 or 20 years in speeding up votes. New parliamentary habits have developed. Thought is being given to electronic voting. Let me point out immediately that electronic voting does not mean remote voting. MPs must be physically present on the Hill for the proceedings leading to a vote and for the recorded vote itself, and this is a process about which our fellow citizens have strong feelings.
We were not elected to this place to let our whip vote for us. What would happen if there were surprise votes? Would the whip pull out his list of proxies and record the votes? That is totally unacceptable. I, as a whip, consider that this would be too much power.
The practice of pairing is a matter of honour and respect between MPs. Even if our colleague's motion were formally adopted, I am convinced that this privilege could not be taken away from MPs. That would be a change to the Standing Orders of the House of Commons which would be unenforceable and unacceptable. Even if it were adopted, it could not have any legal force.
I am convinced that my colleague, who is a conscientious member of Parliament, will reflect upon this. There is no way that two MPs could be prevented from working out a pairing arrangement.
The reality is that an MP is the only one responsible for his vote. It is not transferable. It would be quite unusual for a vote to come from a whip. The vote belongs to the MP, not his or her whip. It is a privilege conferred upon us by our fellow citizens. We may not transfer responsibilities to others, particularly not the responsibility to vote.
Proxy voting reduces MPs' freedom to vote. It could even go so far as to lower the quality of voting.
Nothing is more effective than contacts between parliamentarians of all parties, except between parliamentarians of the same party in order to take a stand on an important issue or even a less important one. I personally think that they are all important and that many members feel the same way. Mr. Speaker, because I know you, I know that you share this viewpoint.
There is a very special dynamic on Parliament Hill. Many meetings are held to ensure that members voting will do so in full knowledge of the facts of the matters, which are often very complex. Voting cannot be done at a distance, and, because of its importance, cannot be left to others.
It would be easy to argue on the subject of voting by proxy that it could mean significant savings, since members would not have to travel from Vancouver or Whitehorse simply to come and vote in Ottawa. If this is the intention of the motion introduced by the member for North Vancouver, I would submit that electronic voting would achieve the same result.
And so, if one day electronic voting becomes acceptable, I am sure that voting from elsewhere will be out of the question. This is where we vote. We must certainly not vote electronically from somewhere else and especially not hand over the responsibility to the whips or to others.
Be assured that I and my party will always be here to defend the importance of the privilege of pairing with a colleague. This is one of the members' important privileges. We will be here to defend the importance of being physically present on the Hill and in Parliament in order to vote, to take a stand on behalf of our colleagues and especially on behalf of our fellow citizens.
If there is one party that frequently speaks of its constituents, because they take a stand in voting, it is the Reform Party. It is an honour for them, I admit, but it involves being physically present here in Parliament.
I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on this important issue, which will be followed with interest in the coming months by all my colleagues.