No, I would not put it that high, certainly not in the riding I represent, because I sent a survey out to every household in the riding, which came back with 70% in favour of an elected Senate, not in favour of abolishing the Senate.
Unlike both hon. members who spoke, I do not think we do such a great job in the House. I do not think we are the last line of defence for the Canadian public. I am not so full of myself that I could believe that we could put something forth in the House of Commons and have the final say for all Canadians.
I would not for a moment say that we should not have another house to keep check of the House of Commons, regardless of who sits on that side or on this side of the House. I also do not think that we are doing justice to Canadians by having four official opposition parties in the House of Commons. I would like the hon. member's comments on that.
I fully agree that we should do something about the Senate, but stopping their budget? Let us be real. Let us have an elected Senate. Let us do something about it. I do not care if it is a triple E Senate or a double E Senate, I want the word “election” in the process.
With respect to holding back its budget, the Senate does do some good work. It has some members who should not be members of the Senate. We have some members of parliament who should not be members of parliament.
Let us do something progressive and positive. I will offer my support to reform the Senate, but not to abolish it. It is as simple as that. I would like to have the hon. member's comments on that.