Mr. Speaker, that is great co-operation. It is only too bad that the industry minister does not show that type of co-operation to the hon. member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge.
I wish to thank the hon. member from our party for his efforts in helping to protect small industry in this country, especially when it comes to gas retail companies.
I also wish to thank Mr. Dave Collins who is the Director of Eastern Canada for the Independent Retail Gasoline Marketers Association of Canada and the vice-president of Wilson Fuel Co. Limited. I must say that the number of Wilson Fuel stations in my riding do an outstanding job in terms of customer service to the small communities. He is a great example of what small business can do for community services.
I also wish to thank the hon. member for Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre for his efforts in promoting Bill C-235, as well as John Holm, the MLA for Sackville—Cobequid, Nova Scotia, who we call the gas man, for his efforts in telling the Competition Bureau to become a watchdog on competition in gas sales and vertical integration instead of being a lap dog.
It is unfortunate that the government, especially the industry minister, has a tendency to eat its young when it comes to backbenchers. It is just an example of the government not allowing independent, free thinking backbenchers who have terrific ideas which would benefit the majority of Canadians from coast to coast to coast to put forward those ideas in a manner which does not stifle them and attack their integrity. We find that deplorable and wish that the government, the cabinet and the industry minister would start to listen to their backbenchers, especially the member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge, and do the right thing.
It is quite natural for the Reform Party to say what it keeps saying because, as with the banks, the bigger the banks the better everything will be; the bigger the gas companies the better everything will be. That is just not going to benefit Canadians.
The member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge is absolutely correct when he says that the vision of Canada is one in which legislators protect small entrepreneurial businesses and people who have aggressive attitudes in terms of protecting and working in small communities, especially when it comes to small gas stations.
It reminds me of the old days when the small gas station, for example, was the focal point of the community, along with the post office. People would get together and fill up their tanks. I always think of Andy of Mayberry with Goober and Gomer and the sort of camaraderie they had. It reminds me of a small town in Nova Scotia, Goshen, where the guys gather at the gas station around the hot stove to reminisce about the day and what is happening on the weekend. They would not be able to do that if we did not have laws like Bill C-235 to protect them from the gouging practices of the larger companies.
I will end my remarks by saying that it was a pleasure to discuss this very serious and important initiative.