Yes, I will. I neglected to mention that. I will be sharing my time with the member for Don Valley East, and I want to thank you for pointing that out to me.
Some of the general ideological thrusts I certainly can agree with. I certainly support some of the statements dealing with the Arctic. The last time I believe I read a statement about this, the direction at that time was to have three or four major military boats in the Arctic and leave it at that. This speech seems to develop on that and take it one step further, talking about development, research, et cetera, which I find a much better direction to follow.
Canadians are going to be disappointed in some of the other areas that they are looking for. With climate change of course, we have more words, but we are dealing with a government that has done absolutely nothing since it got elected. It canceled the Kyoto accord. It removed any reference to it on its web page. It joined the APEC organization, which is dead against Kyoto. It wants to use what it calls aspiration goals, which members know, I know and every Canadian knows, are totally meaningless.
The speech talked about the Afghan mission. I certainly agree Canada has a role and Canada has a future role in that particular part of the world. It is very important but it is my position and our party's position that the combat mission should end in February 2009. We certainly will have other roles and obligations in that particular country. It is time for other NATO countries to put their shoulders to the wheel.
Again, what the government has tried to do here is put it over to a group of five individuals who are told not to consult the public, have no public consultations, but come back with a report in February. In other words, to turn the channel as it has done with climate change.
However, I want to use the limited time available to me today to talk about a statement in the Speech from the Throne that I believe we as parliamentarians should consider. It is very significant to this country, and that is to introduce legislation to place formal limits on the use of the federal spending power, which of course is implicit in the British North America Act. It has been recognized by our courts and of course it has been going on for years and years.
The Government of Canada has to consult with the other 10 provinces and three territories, respect their wishes, their aspirations and their values, but at the end of the day, the Government of Canada has a responsibility for each and every Canadian for the common good. It has to have a pan-Canadian view. It has the responsibility to act on behalf of the country.
Successive governments from various political stripes have developed programs, they have maintained programs, and they have enhanced programs under this particular ambit. Some examples are the Canada Health Act, medicare, employment insurance, old age pension, the old age supplement, the Canada pension plan, the child tax benefit, post-secondary research, the national housing program, infrastructure, and the new deal for the cities. This is just a partial list.
Each one of them was supported by successive governments, enhanced, improved and changed, but each program required a government with a pan-Canadian view.
We are in a large geographical country with a relatively small population. We have to have a shared destiny. We have to have common goals because many of us in this House and many Canadians believe that Canada is stronger than its diverse parts. We have to have programs, policies and initiatives that respond to our values, our sovereignty as a nation, and as a government we have to act in the best interests of the nation.
We have at this juncture a toxic mix of a government that does not believe in a strong Government of Canada and another party that does not believe in Canada. This is an unholy marriage and it should concern all Canadians.
Many Canadians may ask where this thinking is coming from. It is not coming from Canadians I have talked to. It is not coming from members of the government. People will say that they are proud Ontarians or proud Manitobans but first they will say that they are proud Canadians. Where does this come from? The answer is that it comes from the Prime Minister.
I would suggest that the last time the Prime Minister was elected, he set out his vision for Canada in an open letter to the premier of Alberta. In that letter, he stated that Alberta should build a firewall around itself, that it should withdraw from the Canada pension plan, that it should collect its own personal income taxes, that it should eliminate any association whatsoever with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and that it should ignore whatever provisions there are in the Canada Health Act. In other words, it should break the law, fight the matter in the courts, pay the penalties and allow no federal involvement in health care in that province.
The letter concludes, “take the initiative, to build a firewall around Alberta”.
I assume the letter was addressed to the premier of Alberta, but that same policy, that same line of thinking, would apply to the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick, et cetera.
There might be those who are watching this on TV who think I am making this up. I am not. I will post that letter, that vision of Canada, on my website later today for all Canadians to read and analyze and come to their own opinion.
This is not my agenda for Canada. It is not the agenda of those people who sent me here to Ottawa. This is not about standing up for Canada. People are screaming that they want their country back. It is not the position of members of the government party either. This will be an interesting debate in this particular Parliament.
Before we even start the debate, as we discuss the role of the federal government to meet the future challenges of this great country, we should ask ourselves what John A. Macdonald would think. What would Tommy Douglas think? What would his views be on this direction? What would Lester Pearson think? That is going to be a very interesting aspect.
I have put my thoughts on the table on this particular issue. It is my firm belief that to succeed in the future, this country needs a strong federal government, a government that has a pan-Canadian view and a government that acts on behalf of every Canadian. I do hope we have that in the years and decades to come.