Mr. Chairman, I have a question for the government House leader pertaining to the title of the bill, namely, the retiring allowances act. I was wondering if the minister might be able to comment on a bill that was recently passed not so long ago with regard to retirement allowances.
When I look around the Chamber I see the guards who represent us here in the House of Commons and who do their jobs dutifully. I note that the government rated the pension plans of the public service employees not so long ago, yet it is ready to once again tinker with the pensions of the members of parliament. I think that speaks to a real contradiction and conflict of interest when members of parliament can decide on their own pay, pension and perks, but other people in the country are not allowed that same type of privilege.
As a matter of fact, other people in the country do not decide on legislation that directly affects their net worth because they are not ministers and they are not members of parliament. People like the guards in this place do not set their own levels of remuneration. They do not have pension plans that are above and beyond what the private sector has.
What I would like to ask of the government House leader is this. Why does he feel that it is okay for members of parliament to be making these decisions on their remunerations? In a sense it begs the question, who guards the guards? I noticed that he had a particularly broad smile on his face, going from ear to ear, as the member for the Progressive Conservative Party was speaking. I have no doubt that the government House leader takes great glee in his Machiavellian manoeuvres with regard to the MP pension bill.
With regard to the title, would it not be better for everyone in the country to have a system whereby a certain percentage of their wages went to a mandatory retirement savings plan and a certain percentage went toward a mandatory unemployment savings plan, whether the person is the grass cutter in this place or the Prime Minister?