Mr. Speaker, on what can only be called a sad day for democracy, the Liberal government has utilized procedural mischief to block debate on what would have been a small baby step toward improving parliamentary democracy in Canada.
The motion on the floor, should the Liberal government have allowed it to proceed, would have simply allowed standing committees to elect their chairs by secret ballot votes, free from coercion and intimidation of the Prime Minister's Office.
As a former prime minister today cautioned the House, democracy loses its strength gradually by increments and it takes vigilance and a concerted political will to stem the erosion of democracy by those who would seek to concentrate power in the hands of a few.
Never before in the history of Canada has power been concentrated in the hands a few, a small handful of unelected political flaks in the Prime Minister's Office.
Today we had the opportunity to take a step toward a better, fairer and more balanced Parliament. Let the record show it was the Liberal Party that stopped it, with the exception of one courageous Liberal member who had the conviction to vote in favour of parliamentary reform.