Madam Speaker, it may surprise some people to hear me say that I agree with the fundamental point made by the Alliance member. We do need parliamentary reform. We need parliamentary reform for some of the reasons cited by the member.
Basically the government is arrogant because of its numbers. It is also arrogant because there are so many ways in which it can squash dissent, quell debate and in the end, simply run roughshod over the work of parliamentarians. Members earnestly and conscientiously serve on committees, hear from members of the public who bring forth recommendations to the government and then the government thumbs its nose at them.
It is absolutely incredible that there are autocratic powers which reside with the Prime Minister today. Clearly we do need parliamentary reform.
We need to make sure that when a parliamentary committee votes unanimously, for example to urge the government to end sanctions in Iraq that are killing 5,000 children a month, that the government actually does something about it. When a parliamentary committee proposes major improvements in a piece of legislation to save endangered species, we have to ensure that there is no heavy-handed interference from government members who decide that they want to completely push aside the recommendations made by the committee.
Does the member think it is incumbent upon each and every one of us to examine personally as parliamentarians and as political parties our own conduct? Should we examine how we create contempt in the public mind for parliament and how we create a lack of confidence in parliament?
Is the member willing to acknowledge that the kind of anti-politics practised by the Alliance, the kind of notion that the only way to improve Canada is to shrink down government, is an erosion of democracy itself, both people's belief in and participation in the political process? Is it not also eroding the government's capacity to do what Canadians want done such as improving health care, ensuring an accessible education system, building safe transportation and environmental infrastructure in the country, the things that really do matter to Canadians?
The Alliance Party keeps insisting that taxes per force are the scourge of the earth. Does the member not recognize that it is very difficult to maintain public health and education systems and other infrastructures that matter to all Canadians, the cost of which should be shared on a progressive basis through our taxation system?