Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to enter this debate today with respect to the Canada Elections Act. I find it of considerable interest. I sat on the procedure and House affairs committee and this was certainly a part of the committee's work. I thought we did it in a very non-partisan, effective way that ended up being very succinct and to the point in terms of the kind of meaningful changes Canadians expect in terms of their electoral system.
We in Canada have a model electoral system that is emulated around the world. It is certainly considered to be one that is of great interest to nations wherever they are in the world. It underscores the great democracy that we in Canada have. It is one which I think we should be very proud of in terms of its effectiveness and what it means for Canadians wherever they may live in this great land of ours. It also underscores the values, institutions and symbols that unite us as a people and present us as an effective nation not only to ourselves internally but to the wider world community.
I am a little surprised by the Reform Party, especially the member for Elk Island who tried to denigrate the things we are trying to do. Instead he should be celebrating the fact that this bill is going to committee where they can be part of a system where there can be effective changes. Instead of trying to work with the government in this all important area, Reformers are content as usual to take extremist views to try to sabotage the system. That is most unfortunate.
But then Reform is a party that is always intent on pitting region against region, people against people and group against group. It is most unfortunate that Reformers take that tact all the time. It underscores where that party is coming from. I know Canadians want and will have no part of it. What Canadians will have a part of is the government's position on this all important legislation, understanding that this is the way we have to go. We need to ensure that we do the right thing for Canadians in this area because it underscores our democratic system as we know it.
There are many issues I could get involved with, election financing for example. I know—