Madam Speaker, the member for Dewdney--Alouette raises an incredibly valid point. He says we are standing in the House today debating a housekeeping bill which deals with in the government's own language technical amendments.
It is now October. On September 11 we saw horrific events which forever changed how our country will operate. Yet we have not seen one word in legislation to deal with terrorism. That is a tragedy.
The hon. member was correct to point out that the government has run out of things to do. It had to adjourn the House yesterday for 35 minutes. When the government wants a critical piece of legislation drafted it can get it done in a matter of hours. If legislation affects the government it can have it brought in and rammed through the House in a day or two. Yet we have seen nothing on terrorism.
The government has told us it is still waiting. It says it will bring legislation before the House after the break week. That is completely unacceptable. The bill deals specifically with the security of the diplomatic community when we host incredibly important international meetings such as the upcoming G-8 one and APEC.
The question on the minds of all Canadians is whether we will be able to provide security and whether we need to make changes in light of what has happened. I am not being critical of the government but we live in a different world now and things must change.
Our economy is on eggshells and everyone is concerned. Members on all sides are concerned about where the issue will go. Canadians are concerned. The point my hon. colleague from Dewdney--Alouette is making is that we are in the House dealing with a bill that contains technical amendments and makes no mention of terrorism. It addresses the Hughes report which says the RCMP should be the primary police agency responsible for such meetings. However it has no parameters and does not go into any detail.
We will support the bill although it contains only technical amendments. The real shame is that we are not standing to debate the events. We are not debating how to protect Canadians, ensure the free flow of goods between Canada and the United States or secure our borders.
I wish members a happy Thanksgiving. My party looks forward to seeing the government's bill on terrorism when we return because it is the number one issue Canadians are concerned about.