Mr. Speaker, I can only echo the comments of my colleague when she stated that the government has been slow to respond to issues of importance. She has indicated that this housekeeping bill could have been passed any time in the last nine years.
The government is continuing with a legislative program as though nothing has happened, at a time when we are facing a changed reality not only in Canada but in the world due to the events of September 11.
It is making some movement in some areas. However it has been very slow. It has not been comprehensive. It has not included all members. It has not activated our committee process in a meaningful way to address legislation that would take a look at issues such as border security and the perimeter of North America.
It has not taken any bold initiatives in bringing forward anti-terrorism legislation immediately. It has not brought a budget to the House to discuss with the people of Canada what the priorities of the government will be and how it will address issues such as border security, immigration and increased resources to find individuals who are under deportation order or are illegally in Canada.
We have not seen any concrete leadership in those areas. We have seen it in the United States and my colleague referred to that. We have seen the house of representatives and the senate committees getting to work the very next day after this event and changing the entire legislative agenda in the United States. It is changing the agenda of other legislatures across the world, yet it seems to have merely a ripple impact in the House of Commons.
I have stood on a number of occasions since September 11 and congratulated the government when it has done a good thing. I have also indicated that it is not doing enough.
We can tell when someone cares about an issue by the time, the effort and the resources they put into something. We implore the government to take this a little more seriously, to set the tone, to change the direction in this place, to bring us together in a less partisan way and to put us all to work. We are itching to make some concrete changes in these areas which in many ways have accumulated due to the neglect of resourcing from the government for the last eight years. I would like my colleague to comment on those concerns.