Mr. Speaker, we are allowed to make our representations in committee; it is just that we know the government will ignore every representation.
Bill C-42 is moving us in the direction of the old War Measures Act. That is back to a time when ministers unilaterally made decisions affecting the fundamental rights of Canadians. They did it without parliamentary review or oversight. The War Measures Act was criticized quite properly for the virtually unlimited power it conferred upon cabinet. It had to be repealed and it was repealed.
Why then is the government once again concentrating power in the cabinet and bypassing parliament and the rights of Canadian citizens?