Mr. Speaker, I would like to comment on a couple of the statements the member made.
When one is looking for capable, qualified people, it is a tough chore to automatically exclude everybody who has ever been involved in any form of support of a political party. The fact is that we urge our citizens to be involved.
The member mentioned Mr. Gouk, a colleague of mine who used to sit as a member of Parliament. He was appointed. Jim Gouk happened to have been an air traffic controller. He was more qualified than any of the other applicants. I do not know why anyone would disqualify him just because he happened at one time to have been a Conservative. I know where the member is coming from. It is a tough chore.
What I object to is when the Liberals used to appoint people whose only qualification was that they were members or supporters of the Liberal Party.
However, in this particular case, and it is one on which I have personal knowledge, there is probably nobody in the country as knowledgeable about air traffic control, having worked in that business and kept up to speed with it, than Jim Gouk.
I understand where the member is coming from as I used to sit on that side. One has some sympathy for the perception but in this case the perception is wrong.