They are responsible to the people and they are the ones who make the real decisions.
This bill came into force in 1968. This legislation, which basically abolished the legislative council, should also lead us to this real debate which we must have sooner or later in this House. We must not only change the procedure of royal proclamation in order to eliminate the so-called parade through a written declaration, but we must also debate what role of the Senate should really play.
Quebec was not afraid to start the Quiet Revolution and the Parliament of Canada, as an institution, ought not to fear a democratic debate that will lead eventually to a decision. That decision may not be a consensus, but it will change the way things are done.
We know that the Canadian Alliance wants to reform the Senate, while we want to abolish it. The government seems to want to keep it the way it is, and we all know why. We know that it is where they can make partisan appointments.
All that we can hope for, basically, is to make a few changes which will become official but which will not lead to any real and thorough debates on the role of that other chamber of this institution.
Need I remind hon. members that the Bloc Quebecois has done quite a lot in this connection. Back in 1996, my colleague from Kamouraska--Rivière-du-Loup--Témiscouata--Les Basques launched a debate on abolition of the Senate. On November 6, 1996, my colleague said the following: “while programs are being reviewed everywhere,” —as we are today doing with Bill S-34—“and expenses are being cut, the government has missed a great opportunity to make an important symbolic gesture that would have proven its good faith, its desire to give the elected representatives of the people their full voice and legitimacy.”
With this, my colleague launched a debate that could well have been part of the one we are having today on Bill S-34. We know that the budget directly allocated to the Senate totals $43 million , and that the other chamber constitutes a key element in the efficiency and effectiveness of our parliamentary institutions. This is, I would remind hon. members, a chamber that is not answerable to the people, is not elected, and very often serves as a political reward to friends of the government.
The government could have taken the initiative of holding this worthwhile debate, as my colleague form the Canadian Alliance and leader of the opposition has just said, in order to enable members so desiring to introduce bills and motions, which would not only be debated but also be made votable. Once these motions and bills are deemed votable, the government should not resort to dilatory motions to prevent the House from debating these fundamental issues and voting on them.
This should allow us to embark on the real modernization we want, which should not be limited simply to the abolition of the traditional parade leading to royal assent. It should lead to a real review of our institution in order to make it more effective and to give more powers to parliamentarians, regardless of which side of the House they sit on, so that decisions can also be made more efficiently.
At the dawn of the 21st century, it is hard to see how the government can consider the Senate to be truly legitimate in any way. Could the government not simply take a step toward modernizing the Senate, something it has always refused to do? It refuses to do so because it wants it to become a patronage den. It refuses because the Senate works for its benefit, in terms of friendships and decisions.
We must reflect on the role of the Senate, because it is delaying a number of bills. It duplicates the work being done by the house and, in the end, it only symbolic. This is something we came to understand in Quebec 30 years ago, when we abolished the legislative council.
Given that this parade is purely symbolic, why is it that the Senate, which is also symbolic, does not also deserve to be abolished, as we are about to do with respect to royal assent with Bill S-34?
In closing, we support Bill S-34, to abolish this parade and have royal assent signified by written declaration. We believe that this institution must be more effective. We believe that this bill constitutes a first step, a small one, granted, toward modernizing our institutions.
For 30 years now in Quebec, this type of measure has been proven to speed up the debate process, and ultimately, the decision making process, thereby making them both more effective.