Mr. Speaker, as I clearly indicated earlier, the chairs of House committees have already had consultations with the leaders of the opposition parties in the House. There is already a climate of cooperation, a cordial atmosphere. They are looking at ways to modernize the House. They are discussing the adoption of effective Standing Orders.
As regards the issue of votes in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister himself has said on several occasions that we should have electronic voting. We have been discussing this issue for over seven years. Why are we not getting positive results? Can the hon. member tell me? Is it because the Leader of the Government in the House is opposed, or is it because someone from the opposition is stalling?
We have already improved the situation, as I said earlier. We already have proposals on the table. Discussions are continuing.
Finally, I encourage opposition members. If we are truly serious in our desire for democratic reforms in the House, let us work in a non partisan way with the Leader of the Government in the House, and I can guarantee that, at the end of the day, we will have positive results.
It is not a matter of commenting on someone else's remarks. This is a much more fundamental issue. The idea is to discuss what members of Parliament and leaders in the House of Commons can do to have a true reform that will produce tangible results which, in turn, will finally benefit the public.
How can the hon. member say that we can improve things when an amendment such as this one is proposed, and I quote:
That the motion be amended by adding after the word “referred” the following:
“before confirmation of the said appointments”.
What are they trying to accomplish by saying that, whenever the government proposes someone's name, it must submit it to a committee, before the appointment is confirmed? How is this efficient? That is what we are discussing today. That is what is of interest to me.
I do not understand why opposition members do not see things in a non partisan way. We must look at things in a non partisan fashion. If we are really serious about reforms in this House, we must absolutely cooperate.
Now, we are seeing some cooperation, but not enough. We must begin to go forward, not backward.