You see, they have no respect even for the person speaking.
To return to today's question, you can see the importance of democratic rights. We have to come to the House of Commons to debate and vote on bills. There was no system in place to recognize MPs when George W. Bush came to Canada. That is why we have to have a system to recognize MPs, so that Parliament can function.
This is why the question raised by our Bloc Québécois colleague is very important. Some think that the RCMP should look after security for all the Parliament buildings. I have some reservations on that. I have respect for the RCMP, but Parliament is Parliament. We have good security guards at the House of Commons. They know us. We should continue this way.
As the report provides, there should perhaps be a joint House and Senate security system. These are things that could be done to improve the operation of Parliament. A lot of work has been done in this regard. There are agreements to come between the two Houses to provide for a way of working together. It can be done with the help of the report and discussions. We should find a solution by 2006.
As regards the report, perhaps the Liberals can be accused of wanting to take the House of Commons hostage. The House was taken hostage two weeks ago already, with the result that we are not able to review legislation that is so important to everyone. There are bills that we would have liked to pass. There is one that is very important to me, namely Bill S-3 on francophone minorities in Canada, which should enjoy the same respect as anglophone minorities.
This is a bill that I would like Parliament to pass. We have been working on this legislation for 10 years and it is currently before the House of Commons. The Bloc Québécois should not boast about this legislation, because it voted against strengthening Bill S-3.
If we deal with security around the House of Commons when a dignitary comes here, we should first ensure that security is not only provided on the west side, but also on the east side. This is where the problems originated. Second, the identification card of members of Parliament was not even recognized. How many police forces were involved? There was the Ottawa police force, the RCMP and the Parliament's security staff. This was unacceptable. Some members of the Bloc Québécois, NDP and other political parties were not able to have access to Parliament.
As for this report, I would like to see it go forward, so that the problem can be settled and not occur again. There is a problem when a foreign visitor comes here. I have travelled to several countries, and I can assure hon. members that it is not us or the Prime Minister of Canada who would visit a foreign country and prevent their House or Congress from operating. This will not happen. Therefore, refusing entry to the House of Commons to parliamentarians was a lack of respect. This is what happened in November, when American President George Bush came here.
Today, I know the remarks that were made concerned many people. The debate on security in the House of Commons and the exclusion of members from Parliament ended up in a confrontation between political parties. It is a pity. I think about Canadians watching us at home, and I wonder what they think about the circus the House can sometimes be. Since we are not even capable of having respect for one another, how can we expect Canadians to have any respect for us. Looking at the list of the 20 professions that are least respected in Canada, we are first. And we deserve that because of the way we behave. We deserve it because governments abused the system and taxpayers' money. I hope someday those who abused public funds will end up behind bars, because it is the only place money cannot buy. They will be put in prison and stay there for years.
Once again, I am proud we took this opportunity, at a time when Canadians want to get to the bottom of this matter, to wrest something from the government. The Conservatives are unhappy that we could get $4.6 billion for ordinary citizens. They would have preferred to keep that money in the hands of big business. Let them live with their decision. Personally, I think we made the right decision. Canadians will give us credit for what we did. We are prepared to pay the price. I have no worries about what we did and what we managed to get. The electorate will pass judgment on us, the Bloc and all parties. I am not concerned.
A Bloc colleague said that we had acted in such a way because there was no money left in our coffers. To which I respond that if an election is called tomorrow, one thing will happen. One of those days, the vote will come and the citizens will vote. They know who I am and they will know who the other candidate is. We will not be stopped by money come election time and we know it. However, I also know that does not please everybody. Let me say again that it hurts to have seen the Bloc in cahoots with the Conservatives, that is to say members of the left with members of the right.