Madam Speaker, today and the next couple of days we will be discussing a very important piece of legislation. This legislation is asking us, for the first time in 30 years, to reform how we go about collecting and disbursing funds for our elections.
Democracy is 2,502 years old. It was created in my birthplace. People gathered together and said, “This is the way we want things done”. At that time the leaders of the people of Athens took a straw vote and continued in their infinite wisdom to rule the country and to prosper.
Here we are 2,502 years later continuing the process of democracy and building on what those people felt democracy was all about. Members are elected and come to the House of Commons; it is 50% plus one. We are here to represent the wishes of our constituents. We are here to listen to the grassroots and to apply what the grassroots tell us.
The bill in front of us is probably one that will outline the legacy of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister in his wisdom wants to make sure that when he leaves the House we will have the means to have fair elections.
However, I have a problem in that I have been elected four times and every time I have been elected, it has been under the same set of rules. When the rules suddenly change, people ask why the changes are needed and if there is something wrong with what we have had in the past. Maybe there is and maybe there is not.
Perhaps changes are needed. However, a lot of people are saying that because the way we do things and the way we define democracy are so embedded and entrenched, we have to take a step back and consult with the grassroots, whether they be people in our political parties, people who actually make political contributions, or average Canadians.
I am sure my colleagues across the way would give me a standing ovation for this, but under this legislation if a party such as the Reform Party back in 1988 wanted to make itself known on the political scene, it would not have had the ability to do it. At the time it wanted to established itself, there were five or ten people who contributed $10,000 and that was how the party started. At that time no one knew that the Reform Party and subsequently the Canadian Alliance would gain credibility and that one day, lo and behold, that party would be the opposition. One never knows, that party may go into oblivion the next time. The legislation would not have allowed the party to be formed. There was absolutely no means of financing the political aspirations of those people.
We have to look at how we enhance and protect the new parties that want people to come to the House of Commons and represent their constituents. That is one of the difficulties I have with the bill.
There is another difficulty I have with the legislation. Indeed we are here for a very short time and we need to make these changes, but the Canadian public, the grassroots Liberals, Alliance, Conservatives and NDPers need time to talk to their colleagues, their members of Parliament to make sure this is the way they want to go.
It is incumbent upon us to take a step back, take this process to the Canadian public and to the political grassroots of our parties and our ridings. The people who knock on the doors for us and who put up the signs for us must be asked what they think. I am sure that all my colleagues in the House would agree that extensive consultations are needed. We must take two steps back, slow the process down and ask for public consultation.
At the end of the day it may be that the bill in front of us is the best thing since apple pie and ice cream. However, we have to consult with the grassroots Liberals, and the grassroots Alliance if there are any left after the next election. One never knows, there is always room for more parties.