Madam Speaker, the comments of the last 10 minutes indicate why I am voting against the motion.
My hon. colleague can try to portray them any way she wants. She can take whatever shot she wants. I have stood in the House of Commons and spoken in front of Canadians as to my reasons. Let me say, however, I do not in any way, shape or form say that we should not in appropriate circumstances use the notwithstanding clause and I indicated what those circumstances were.
I should indicate that when I signed that letter my purpose was to indicate to the Prime Minister how very concerned we were as ordinary backbenchers as to the ramifications of this decision.
When the hon. member for Mississauga South spoke he made a number of very excellent points about why he signed the letter and I agree with all those. I signed the letter. I stood in this place and explained why I am not supporting this motion. Absolutely no one got to me, as the member puts it. No one has called me to tell me which way to vote. No one has twisted my arm. No one has asked me to hide behind the curtains.
Everybody knows that on an issue like this I will vote the way I think I should vote and I am going to vote against this motion for the reasons I indicated. What got to me was the wording of the motion.