Mr. Speaker, just very briefly I want to voice complete agreement with my colleagues from the Alliance as well as the NDP of the growing concern felt by the opposition for the lack of accountability.
Question period, as the Speaker would know, is but 45 minutes a day in which members of the opposition are afforded the opportunity to ask direct questions of ministers of the Crown. We have seen numerous instances in the past two weeks, since Parliament resumed, where ministers have been present and sat stoney faced on the front bench while parliamentary secretaries leapt to their feet in their defence. This very much undermines the purpose of accountability, the purpose of direct responsibility to the people of Canada through members of the opposition who have every right to raise questions of those ministers when they are present. The government seems very content, although it states otherwise, to undermine the concept of accountability.
The Chair will know, as an active participant and co-author of the modernization report, that every effort was to be made and pledges were given that a greater emphasis would be put on making announcements in the House of Commons and being directly accountable to the House and therefore to the people of Canada.
Therefore we request an admonishment or at least an acknowledgment from the Chair that this should be followed and every diligent effort should be made on behalf of the government to be accountable and to be present in the House of Commons to take questions.