Mr. Speaker, this concept is very near and dear to the hearts of most Canadians. Who actually makes laws in this country, the elected people, the representatives from all over the country in this place, or the judges appointed by the government of the day? That is a valid question. There was never any question in my mind about who it should be. It should be the elected officials.
The difficulty I have is this delegation of authority. If it were only the judiciary, I think we could find a way around that perhaps by appointing judges for seven years instead of for life, or electing judges, we could find answers to make them accountable for their decisions, but it is not. The government appoints bodies, refugee boards, immigration boards, parole boards, that tend to have autonomy within our system. When questions are asked in the House of Commons, ministers say “I do not know. It is not my fault, it is their fault”.
The problem is the government of the day has delegated too much responsibility. At the same time it has not issued accountability within those areas it has delegated to.