Mr. Speaker, you are absolutely right. I was simply reading the letter verbatim and got a bit carried away. It was to the chair of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
The letter reads:
I am writing to you in light of recent media articles concerning the possibility of accelerating the implementation of the new electoral boundaries, effective April 1, 2004.
When considering this matter it is important to keep in mind that the time frame for the new boundaries to come into effect as provided for under the Electoral Boundaries Redistribution Act is one year from the date of the proclamation of the Representation Order. Therefore, any shorter period would require legislative change. Based on the current status of the review by the Sub-committee for Electoral Boundaries Readjustment, it is expected that the proclamation of the Representation Order would be ready by the end of August 2003.
It is a long letter but I urge my colleagues to read it where we have political interference in the Parliament of Canada from the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, which is totally unacceptable, as it would be unacceptable to have political interference with the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada from the Parliament of Canada. They are two separate entities. We have to assure and ensure that they remain two separate entities.
I want to repeat that this entire debate is not about adding seats to the House of Commons. It is not about redressing population imbalances. It is not about increased representation for British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario which all need the seats. It is about political advantage for the sitting Liberal government, and that is wrong. It is going to come into effect anyway on August 25 so why move it ahead to April? It is wrong and if it passes through the House the government should hang its head in shame.