Mr. Speaker, I also want to raise the issue of recall. The same arguments that we have with this bill relate to the debate on recall. That idea has been floated from time to time with the electorate. Provincially, it has exercised that kind of proposition.
When I suggest the vast majority of members do not have more than half the support from their own ridings, a day after the election people can start a petition. They can say that now they know the results of the election, they think they would do better if someone else was in there, so they come up with a petition and go through this process. That would be an abuse of the opportunity. There has to be more to it.
We also have in Canada rights and laws to which all people are entitled. Let us say that someone is in a particular caucus. I would think that not every issue to come up in a subsequent parliament would be dealt with in the platform of a party or in the policy of a particular party. Things happen. What happens if a significant item comes up such as missile defence? I do not think anyone had that in their last platform. If members felt very strongly about missile defence, could not support the positions of their parties and decided they want to make a change, why should they not exercise their right to have an opinion, their right to vote and their right to take action? It is not an indictment of their disregarding or disrespecting the electorate.
We have hundreds and hundreds of votes every Parliament. I am pretty sure that members do not consult with their constituents on each and every vote. Therefore, why do we rely mostly on the argument that we have to communicate the constituents' concerns? If less than 25% have a plurality of over 50% in the riding, if we cannot possibly communicate with our constituents, it is incumbent on members of Parliament to know their ridings, to know their people and to use their best judgment in an informed and professional way. If they make a vote or a move that in their best judgment does not seem to sit well with someone else, they should have an opportunity to go to their people and explain themselves.
I think we all have had that responsibility where we have voted on a particular item. I know many members of this place had numerous communications with regard to issues like civil marriage, income trusts, missile defence, the war in Iraq. How could we possibly go to our constituents on each and every one of these items?
I can look around this place and see many members of Parliament, notwithstanding their own party's position, who have taken a specific position. We can look at the voting record and see how many members have not followed the party position. Why? Is it because they do not want to be part of the team? No. I think in the vast majority of cases what they really wanted to do was to say that they looked at the situation, they made their best judgment and they were prepared to be accountable for that decision. The accountability of a member of Parliament to make that decision has to be respected.
I am not sure whether we have a situation where all of a sudden if I disagree with something and I feel strongly about it, if I am prepared to be--