Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to Bill C-78. I commend the Bloc Party for attempting to have moment of silence for the death of democracy this morning. I thought it was a very good tribute. I stand and applaud the Bloc for that. Although I may not agree with the Bloc in much of its politics, the fact is that it is right on with this one. It is the death of democracy in the House of Commons.
Over 50 time allocation or closure motions have been brought forth by the government since 1993. Bill C-78 is over 200 pages thick with legislation, some of which contains serious public policy. It affects over 1.8 million Canadians currently working for the federal service and those who are retired. It also affects every Canadian from coast to coast to coast.
I ask again why the government is ramming the legislation through. The only answer is that it has an awful lot to hide and it just cannot get its hands on that money fast enough. It just has to have it.
I can assure the House of the difference between an NDPer and a Liberal. We will walk down the street and see a quarter on the ground. An NDPer will pick up that quarter and give it to a street person. A Liberal will pick up that quarter, pocket it and not share it with anyone. That is the problem. That is the difference between the New Democratic Party and the Liberal Party. It is as clear as night.
Reform and Conservative members are rightfully upset by the bill. We must understand that all the Liberals are doing is reforming Tory policies. If Canadians want true democracy in the country, they should elect a full house of New Democrats from coast to coast to coast, provincially and federally. Then we would have some solid democracy.
Bill C-78 affects every Canadian. I do not think the Liberals have thought this one through. It will come back to haunt them in spades. They are ramming it through when the newspapers are full of items like Kosovo and other issues. They want it through the House by early June. Then they will go away and say “look what we have done, folks”.
Here is my prediction of what will happen six months prior to the next federal election. The Right Hon. Prime Minister will step down. His finance minister may win the nomination to be the Liberal leader. He will then come to my riding, or a Reform riding, a Conservative riding, the riding of my colleague from Winnipeg Centre or the riding of my colleague from Halifax West, with $30 billion from the EI fund. Probably the surplus in the pension fund will be $35 billion at that point.
He will have about $65 billion in his pocket and he will ask everyone what they need. If they need a road, it will be done. If they need another prison, it will be done. If they need tax breaks, it will be done. Those things will be done on the backs of the workers, just as the Liberals did with the EI surplus. They took $11.5 billion over five years and dedicated it to health care. That was the money of employers and employees. Now they will do the same with the surplus in the Canada pension fund. This money does not belong to them. It belongs to the workers who worked hard for it.
One of the reasons we have such a wonderful country is our public service. Our military men and women throughout the world work hard on behalf of Canada. What has been their answer to them for their efforts over the years? More taxes for one thing, absolutely. Now they are grabbing their pensions and next year or the year after they will have to pay more into their pension plans.
I may stand corrected on this one point, but this does not affect MPs, members of parliament. I am not sure on that. I will have to check into it. If it does not, obviously it is another scandal we will have to go after the Liberals for.
On behalf of all PSAC workers in Nova Scotia and across the country, on behalf of the RCMP, and on behalf of the military personnel at Shearwater base in my riding, whom my wonderful colleague from Halifax West, our defence critic, knows very well, what the government is doing to their pension plans is an outrage.
What an absolute disgrace that Liberals treat our military personnel, civilian workers and public service workers in that fashion. They are treating them with absolutely no regard at all. A classic example was the recent pay equity decision. They will fight pay equity tooth and nail. In most cases they are offending the women of the country by not honouring their commitment to pay equity.
I remind the House that it was the Liberals who said in opposition that when they formed the government they would honour the commitment to pay equity. They went back on their word. I cannot say they l-i-e-d, but that is exactly what they did. They went back on their word.