Mr. Speaker, I am speechless. The parliamentary secretary has put forth a position with which I, unfortunately, have to agree. The motion put forth by my colleague is a very well intentioned motion. The intent is there to protect workers and ensure that all Canadians, of whatever background, have a solid nest egg, something to retire on.
When my father came over from Italy he was part of the union movement. He started out as a carpenter and a painter. He was a member of local 1080, the painters and allied trades in Toronto. The pension plan was a very important one for him. He moved on and started his own business but he does receive a pension plan.
The important thing for me in the Alliance Party in Canada is that there is choice. In our constitutional parliamentary system we have the judiciary and the parliamentary system. With the bringing into effect of the charter of rights, the distinction or the relationship between those two bodies, it is not that it is being blurred but it is in the process of being figured out.
In looking at the motion, I do not believe it is balanced enough. As the parliamentary secretary mentioned, it takes an approach that removes a lot of the individual's freedom for decision making. When my father was a drywaller and a painter, he had companies and subcontractors that were willing to participate in a type of pension system. That was very important.
I was going to talk about the flaws in my colleague's motion but I would be redundant because the six points I would have mentioned have been gone through by my colleague from the government side. However we can always trust a Liberal to put a partisan edge on a debate that deals with the well-being of Canadians. That is the key point here.
I am sure all members in the House want to make sure workers are taken care of. We have a process. It may not be the final word on determining surpluses but it is a process and for the House to support the motion I think would tie the hands not only of the courts but of parliamentarians in this sitting and in the future.
For that reason, I and the official opposition cannot support the motion even though we support the intent of the motion to provide a solid pension system for the hardworking men and women of Canada.