Mr. Speaker, I must say that I am very pleased with the ruling that was handed down by the Chair today with respect to Motion No. 2 before the House, which came before us in an omnibus fashion and which the Speaker in his wisdom has now divided into its relevant parts.
Clearly what it stems from is the arrogant disregard that the government holds for Parliament itself. We know that the House was suspended for a number of weeks at a time when both an international situation and a domestic situation demanded the early recall of Parliament. Iraq, the crisis on our farms, which the Chair again has recognized, the collapse of grain supplies, the government's war on the provinces, all of these issues are more demanding and urgent than the way in which the government has treated them, and the consideration of Parliament is necessary.
Ironically, the government House leader is again using closure to get his way after presenting this motion to the House. How democratic. Having denied the representatives of the Canadian people the right to meet in Parliament as scheduled, the government now wants to strip the House of the right to consider the business under the normal parliamentary rules. What the government has done, essentially, the government House leader in particular, is that it wants to have all of the perceived benefits of prorogation to allow for the vacuous throne speech to occur, but none of the consequences, again typical of the government's arrogance and lack of accountability which have become so common. Very little has changed from the last session of Parliament.
Canadians are now looking at the spectacle of the great hunter from LaSalle--Émard, the former finance minister, travelling the country, distancing himself from his government's own performance and record. Over the summer this very same member went on this long journey of national discovery, listening to Canadians, hearing their concerns, walking among the people and having them line up to touch the hem of his garment, and there were even a few miracles performed along the way. One of those miracles was that the member for LaSalle--Émard discovered the deficit, the democratic deficit that somehow exists, and now he bills himself as the slayer of that deficit, financial and democratic, while we await the discovery of the ethical deficit plaguing his government.
On the quest of the new dragon, the democratic deficit, the trail took this huntsman to a meeting with the Assembly of First Nations where the dragon slayer told the first nations people of Canada that they needed to be consulted more on Bill C-61, that what they wanted was to have the bill not reinstated but reconsidered by Parliament. As a result of the government House leader's move, that is not in fact going to be the case. We believe that the House should be provided with an opportunity to revisit Bill C-61 and that the House should heed the words of the man who would be Prime Minister.
It was interesting to hear the Minister of Transport get so exercised when he felt that the integrity of the ethics counsellor might have been impugned by my reference to him being the corruption approval officer. This is the same ethics counsellor who we know lost signing privileges for inappropriate conduct prior to his appointment as the ethics counsellor.
Given what has taken place here today in the House, the Solicitor General's refusal again to come clean on some very important ethical matters, I now would look forward to those who feel similarly that the democratic deficit is not being conquered but widened as a result of the government. I believe the government needs sufficient time to consider its actions and to reconsider the approach that it has taken to this Parliament. I therefore move:
That this House do now adjourn.
