Madam Speaker, as it has just come up, why are we here today? Why are we debating this motion? We are giving the government members an opportunity to hear the concerns of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. That is what it is about, listening to their concerns.
Why do people want to be heard? What are their frustrations right now? No matter where we go, people consistently tell us over and over again that the Liberals are not doing their job. I listen to dozens of people in this country. In Ontario people are feeling alienated and frustrated and likewise in Nova Scotia. These people are coming up with the same concerns that I hear in British Columbia.
Last week I spoke with dozens and dozens of British Columbians. I asked them if they had something to say to the government what would it be. One response came up over and over again without prompting them. I told them they had an opportunity to say something to the Prime Minister, so what would they like to say? They said there was contempt for parliament and a lack of democracy. That came up in virtually every conversation.
One gentleman said to me that 38% of Canadians gave 100% of the power to one man. He said that every four years we democratically go to the polls to elect a dictator. There is no question that far too much power centres around the Prime Minister. They went on to say that there are numerous examples in parliament that the Liberal backbenchers are nothing more than sheep. They might as well send trained robots to Ottawa to do as they are told. We have heard that over and over again. It is a rubber stamp for these guys.
I spoke with Irv Koombes from Burnaby. He expressed alienation that stemmed from the government's fundamental lack of respect for members of parliament and the democratic process. He said that he feels parliament treats British Columbians more like a nuisance and at its worst its attitude borders on contempt. He went on to say how can one help but not feel alienated from a government that treats its own MPs like sheep. That came up over and over again.
There are lots of examples. Members have been kicked out of government for not voting with the government and now sit on their own as independents.
The most recent issue that comes to my mind, an issue respecting crime, concerns the member from Ontario who brought forward a private member's motion dealing with consecutive sentencing. To make a long story short, this private member's bill was sent to committee but the trained sheep were sent to committee to delete the entire bill. It was outrageous and a contempt of parliament. It was was absolutely inexcusable. These examples happen over and over again.
Last year the member for Vancouver Quadra suggested to the Prime Minister that the government should consider funding the legal expenses for some of the protesters at the APEC trial. All he was suggesting was a fair process.
Did the Prime Minister consider that suggestion? No. What did he do? He punished the member by removing him as committee chair. At the end of the day, the government came around so the process could be fair, but because the member disagreed with the government and the Prime Minister, out came the heavy club. These are people from the Liberal member's own riding who are telling me this information. This is the level of frustration we have.
The whole country was shocked earlier this year when Justice Shaw struck down the law with respect to possession of child pornography. Seventy Liberal members, MPs and senators from across the country, including those from British Columbia, sent the Prime Minister a letter asking him to immediately bring into parliament legislation that would reinstate the law and make it stronger or use the notwithstanding clause.
The Reform Party put its motion forward to deal with this as expeditiously as possible. When this motion was put forward we were not even aware of this letter. The letter came up after the fact. What did the government do? It again brought out the heavy club.
The Liberal members from British Columbia feel frustrated and alienated because they cannot stand up and represent their views. The government has no concern for them at all.
I personally witnessed it as a member of the fisheries committee. In my very first year in parliament our committee went out and did excellent work. When we were sometimes critical of the government, how did it respond? It fired the chairman, the member for Gander—Grand Falls, Newfoundland.
The member for Gander—Grand Falls, right now as we speak, is speaking to the fisheries committee on the seals issue. Does any member know whose time he is speaking on? He is speaking on Reform's allocated time because the government does not provide him with any. The Liberal member for Gander—Grand Falls, a member of parliament for 24 years, is at the fisheries committee speaking on the allocated time of the Reform Party of Canada. He does not have a lot to offer because the government will not provide him with anything. The government punishes him because he is not a trained sheep. This is absolutely disgraceful.
I could speak here all day on the things I have heard from British Columbians. A member from Victoria, a member who works in the minister of fisheries' riding, told me that the government considers British Columbians to be parasites; they literally suck the life out of us and give nothing back. That is what a parasite actually does. It literally sucks all the life out of something and offers nothing in return. That is how this member described the government.
According to the Liberal government, if British Columbians are making too much noise, it throws them a bone once in a while to keep them quiet and slow them down a bit. It thinks of British Columbians as nuisances.
These are the exact comments, word for word, coming from British Columbians that I have spoken to. It is an opportunity for the Liberals to listen.
The government is also aware of this. What did it do? It knows this is out there but is not dealing with it. It created a committee called the western alienation committee. That describes it in itself. When we have to create a committee called the western alienation committee what does that tell us? It tells us that there is no representation.
There are opportunities for the government to act for British Columbians. The federal government could push to renegotiate the software lumber accord with the U.S. Two out of every five jobs in British Columbia come directly or indirectly from the forestry industry. It is suffering terribly partly because of the federal government's policy with the softwood lumber accord. No, it is not taking it to task. It is sitting on its hands and doing nothing.
I heard throughout the province that the forestry communities throughout British Columbia are devastated. Where is the government? How come it is not standing up and fighting for us? Let us be absolutely clear that when it negotiated and agreed on the quotas with the U.S. in the softwood lumber agreement, it was a Liberal member on the committee who negotiated that. Ironically, the quotas for British Columbia went down while the quotas for Ontario went up.
If I had to sum up the issues which are frustrating British Columbia, the first issue would be the contempt of parliament and the lack of accountability and democracy. That issue resonates everywhere we go. They want people to come to Ottawa to represent their views. They do not want Ottawa to tell them what they think.
The second issue is taxes, taxes, taxes and tax fairness for the family. They are outraged that the government could not support a very simple motion. It only confirmed in their minds that the government has its own agenda. It refuses to listen to the people of Canada and, more importantly, the people of British Columbia.
I spoke with a family from Surrey. This women received an increase of $1.24 per hour 13 months ago and not one extra dime has shown up on her pay cheque. It was all going into taxes. I hope the government is listening.