Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. One of the most memorable moments in my time in the House was the day when we voted on compensation for hepatitis C victims. That was probably my first real idea of how much power was in the front row of the government.
We saw backbench government members stand to vote against the motion to compensate all victims. To the credit of one member who was very emotional, she had worked very hard for these people but had to vote against her beliefs and the wishes of her constituents.
I have received quite a few letters, as I am sure have all members of the House, from constituents about this issue. I would like to read a couple of them. This one comes from a constituent in Coalhurst, Alberta. It is addressed to the Liberal members of the Government of Canada, with a copy to me, and states:
This letter is to inform you of my disgust at the Liberals in the Federal Government. Their handling of the tax money of this country is a disgrace.
It is my opinion that there are several people that should be relieved of their positions because of their ineptness...Is there no accountability to the people that have put you in office? Please stop the policy...of using tax dollars as a slush fund for political patronage.
Another letter was to the Prime Minister with a copy to myself. It comes from a constituent in Lethbridge and states:
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
As a taxpayer, I find the reports about the way the HRDC has been handing out our money, very disturbing for two main reasons. The first is the apparent lack of proper management of the vast funds of taxpayers money being handed out—There are many who believe that the minister should resign. The hon. minister should be held accountable for the apparent poor management practices of HRDC. However, she may have done taxpayers a big favour by bringing to the attention of the entire country the casual and lax ways that millions of our tax dollars are spent.
It was the member from Nose Hill who brought it to the attention of the country. The letter states further:
But more importantly this affair, as well as the attempt to give millions to millionaire hockey teams, has clearly pointed out to the taxpaying public that the government is collecting more money than it can spend in useful ways.