Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to enter the debate on Motion No. 296. For the record the motion before us states:
That, in the opinion of this House, the government should fully implement the recommendations of the 51st Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in the First Session of the 36th Parliament, entitled “The Business of Supply: Completing the Circle of Control”.
It is important to have this debate on the motion. I certainly listened with great interest to the members who have spoken up to this point. I want to make a minor correction. The member who spoke prior to me said that because of the cut in transfer payments that was how the books were balanced when the Liberal Party took power in 1993. Of course he knows better. It was a result of rolling up our sleeves as a government and making sure that through program review we cut spending in many of the departments. We went on to make sure that we did the right thing. We asked Canadians to sacrifice and they co-operated with us. As a government we were very successful in eliminating the Tory deficit that had really beleaguered us in 1993.
Now we are paying down the debt in substantial amounts of billions of dollars. At last count it was over $30 billion we have paid down on the debt.
As a government we are making the kinds of moves that are consistent with what Canadians expect and want. It is in keeping with our obligations not only domestically but internationally as well. It underscores the good work of the Prime Minister and the cabinet, and especially the finance minister and all members of our caucus. They have worked very hard to ensure that is the case.
There was some allusion prior to my speaking about the history of how this motion came about. It is important to know the subcommittee of the procedure and House affairs committee presented its report in 1997. Of course events overtook that report being submitted. As a result there was a general election. It was re-tabled following the dissolution of parliament in 1998.
We need to understand this point thoroughly. The House modernization committee built on the recommendations and the work of the procedure committee. That was a very important committee dealing with the whole idea of modernizing the House of Commons. There was talk about making it more efficient, more accountable and better working and in keeping with a new approach in how as parliamentarians we deal with the various functions of parliament and in reverse, how best to proceed in terms of parliament proceeding to do what members of parliament want.
I mention that because it is important to note that as a result of the government's initiatives we struck the modernization committee. On June 1 that committee report was tabled. It was adopted. We have now seen extensive improvements as a result of the good work of that committee. We have seen the extensive improvements that have occurred especially as they relate to the estimates process which is in essence what we are speaking about tonight.
These changes have increased the role of the House, based on the good work of the modernization committee, in the review of estimates and in debating the government's spending plans in the full House of Commons. That is an important point because that has happened. We have now taken the appropriate steps to ensure that the estimates are debated thoroughly. Therefore unfortunately this motion is not necessary. It is not required. In fact it is redundant. We need to keep that in mind.
My second major point, which is an important one, is that if we were to put in place a new estimates committee, it would overlap the present work of the existing committees.
For example, when I chaired the health committee we called in the health minister who at the appropriate times discussed the estimates and recommended, supported, debated and talked about what was being planned by the health department. That is a very appropriate process. That committee has the kind of overall public health approach philosophy, the kinds of departmental issues and overall policy objectives that would be part and parcel of the health committee. The Minister of Health would be there to discuss and debate those estimates as they were presented.
The same is true at the justice and human rights committee of which I am a member. For example, in the next little while, I believe within the next week or so, the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada will be there, whose job it will be to defend the estimates that she will be presenting at the justice and human rights committee. That is precisely the appropriate forum for that to take place.
The process has worked very well. It is an ongoing process in terms of requiring members of parliament to get down to the basic work of researching their questions, studying the issues and making sure they understand the policies. At the same time, I guess for lack of a better word, they grill the minister to see whether he or she can defend the estimates as they are being presented. That is the parliamentary process. I believe it is a very good one. It has served us well. It has worked very well. It continues to be fine tuned and refined. It also continues to be made modern in the sense of keeping up with existing and other changes which occur which are consistent with the values of this House and by extension the values of all Canadians. We need to keep that in mind.
We have heard from other people. Certainly the President of the Treasury Board has indicated that she is prepared to maintain the Treasury Board requirements to report fully on parliamentary spending and spending matters as they pertain to expenditures across the departments. We continue to press for any and all improvements in that reporting because I think that is in keeping with the will and the wishes of Canadians and our constituents. That is precisely what the President of the Treasury Board has committed to, as she has in the past. That is appropriate. It makes a great deal of sense in terms of what we can do, what we should do and quite frankly what we must do.
I have to confess that in terms of some of the implications of where this motion could take us, I do not like the notion or idea that confidence in the government might somehow be reduced on the issue of supply. The whole notion of confidence in the government based on supply is a longstanding parliamentary tradition. It goes back to the very essence and roots of parliamentary democracy as we know it and as we have tailored it to the needs and requirements of Canada based on some of the British parliamentary traditions and other traditions which exist.
That is an appropriate convention to have. It goes to the very heart of what I believe to be parliamentary democracy. It is something that should be maintained. I do not for a minute like the idea that somehow we would reduce that or make it less than what it is now. That would have the net effect of making parliament not the place that it is today. It would neutralize it to a point which I believe would be unacceptable.
My point is simple. We need to carry on with the modernization committee report. We need to carry on with those recommendations, which we are now doing. It makes a great deal of sense. As a result, I find the motion is not required. I certainly cannot support it and I would urge all other members not to as well.
At the end of the day, we will carry on as a government with the assistance of all members I believe in a manner consistent with the great values of Canada. We will do it in a way which ensures that spending is done in a manner that is appropriate and one of which we can all be proud.