Mr. Speaker, I generally agree with the point the member has made that this problem has been created by the paralysis in the House. I am not sure that it is a cause of the paralysis in the House. I think because the government has virtually ground to a halt and made it impossible to really function, we find ourselves now with this kind of contingency legislation.
I, for one, have a very difficult time trying to explain this to my own constituents. I do not want to pretend that I have a lot of constituents phoning me up or writing me letters asking me to explain why the government is asking me to support legislation to let it off the hook six months from now with respect to delivering on the new equalization formula. That is just not the case.
What people are asking is how can it be, and I mentioned this previously. When a cabinet member comes forward with a positive, progressive initiative to invest heavily in our railway system, the member for LaSalle—Émard has one of his henchmen go to the people involved to tell them that his boss will not necessarily agree to honour the commitments made, and therefore, they had better not dare commit a single cent. I do not know how to explain that.
I guess I do understand why the government wants to shut down in the embarrassment of all this, but surely a government that wants to lead the country should be able to figure out how to break this log jam and get on with the business of the nation.