Mr. Speaker, I too am a little concerned with the process we are using here tonight. Obviously there are some firefighters up in the gallery who are probably sitting there wondering just what the h is going on with this debate. This is what unfortunately happens when a good issue that should be handled properly through the right process is not handled properly. This is an example of that.
I want to say at the outset, as my colleagues have said, that I am extremely supportive of this. I have been lobbied, as have other members of parliament from all parties, over the last number of years. It is ironic that the Canadian Alliance and before it the Reform Party has been supportive of this initiative to increase the pension accrual rates for firefighters. We have been supportive of that all along.
It is Liberal members and cabinet members who have been dragging their heels and not doing anything about this over the years. They will say that they have been lobbying the appropriate ministers and the Prime Minister behind the scenes to get some action on this, but the reality is that they have opted to do nothing on this.
As my colleague from Prince Albert has asked, what is the motion that the hon. member for Dufferin--Peel--Wellington--Grey has put forward? I support taking immediate action, as my colleague has said, and doing something proactive and productive and getting this in place for our firefighters, but the motion says, “That the government consider the advisability of increasing the pension accrual rate...”.
How many times in the nine years that I have been a member of parliament has the government used this ploy to shuffle stuff off to committees, study it to death and nothing would happen? If the government were serious about this then let us pass a motion here tonight that would actually do it.
What have we got? We have a few Liberal members who stand up and say that they had a conversation with the finance minister and it is pretty much a done deal. Well, we have been down this road before. What ends up happening is that it gets shuffled off, some committee researches, analyzes and debates it, and nothing ever ends up happening. I would hate to see that happen to such an important issue but that seems to be where we are headed.
The hon. member for Dufferin--Peel--Wellington-Grey wants to take advantage of this issue for some political points. It is an issue of tremendous importance to some people for whom all of us have the deepest respect. All members in the House would support accomplishing this. Not to consider the advisability of increasing it but actually passing the laws to increase it. Let us do it. If the Liberals were serious about it, we would do it.