Mr. Speaker, all the members who stood mentioned democracy. The last member who stood also talked about opposing the motion. However, the point we have been trying to make here is that we cannot even vote on it. This place is so undemocratic that there is not even an opportunity to vote at all.
The member from the NDP got up and talked about democracy but all he could talk about was representing the NDP's position. He talked about this motion as if it were a Reform motion. This is Private Members' Business. It is the business of individual members of Parliament. If a well experienced member like the member from the NDP has not caught on yet that this is supposed to be a period of free voting for members then he has a lot to learn about democracy at this point.
Pairing is something also that Reform does not support because it does not work for a party like Reform which has written into its party constitution that we have an obligation to represent the majority will of our constituents in this place, as I have done on three separate occasions, voting against the line of my party.
Therefore it is impossible for pairing to work for new style parties. It is great for the old line parties that refuse to change. That is one of the problems.
For the members who stand and say that a vote in this place actually belongs to the member and that he is representing his or her constituents is not only naive, it treats Canadians as if they are fools, as if they do not know what happens in this place. Everyone over there is instructed by the Prime Minister how to vote and everyone down at this end is instructed by their leaders how to vote. Every single one of them is instructed how to vote. When we talk about democracy and freedom it is just not true.