Absolutely, Mr. Speaker, excuse me.
In this particular correspondence the writer recalls a comment made by the prime minister to be in the 2006 federal election.
To paraphrase, One will not recognize Canada by the time I am finished with it. I have not recognized it for some time now.
This person said:
Counting Tuesday's vote on...the private member's bill [regarding lowering the] Peace Tower flag, [which we passed], and the government's decision to NOT honour a vote in the [House of Commons]; to cherry-pick who can and cannot come into this country based on a criterion that is not open to discussion [by Parliament or all of us] smacks of a policy that should truly frighten all of us.
The citizens understand. The citizens get it. The taxpayers of Canada are watching and listening.
The parliamentary secretary can brush over this change in one sentence of his speech introducing this legislation to this House. He thinks people do not understand. He thinks Canadians are not paying attention. He thinks we are all stupid and asleep at the switch. We are not. Canadians understand clearly when something goes through this House and is not presented to the representatives of the people for proper scrutiny and debate. People see that. They remember it, and they will take action on it.
I have a message here from Judy Birch of Clifford, Ontario. She wrote her member of Parliament, who actually is a Conservative member of Parliament. I believe his riding is Wellington—Halton Hills. She said:
Sir, Please explain to me why you are including a drastic change in immigration policy to a budget bill?
Whose decision was this? How much input did you have in this new policy?
Were you consulted about the ramifications of two-tier immigration policies?
Were you consulted about the effects of non reunification of families?
She asked her member, the Conservative member for Wellington—Halton Hills:
Were you given a comprehensive outline of the criteria that would be used in the selection of so-called “superior” applicants?
I do not understand the need to hide our immigration rules in a budget bill.
Excellent questions, indeed.
Martin Mulligan from Newfoundland wrote to me overnight:
While I do not necessarily want to give you words for your speech, I do want to let you know that I oppose the inclusion of the immigration matter in the budget implementation bill. ...I would prefer to see C-50 amended and split into two bills: the budget implementation bill and an immigration bill. This should be done as a matter of principle if for no other reason. Once you permit an unrelated bill to pass as part of a money bill, the cat will be out of the bag and this will become a recurring practice. A practice that is abhorrent to good parliamentary democracy.
The people understand this. They see what is going on. They understand that this government cannot attach things to a bill just to get them through, then roll the dice and make it a confidence issue, stand over there like a bunch of bullies and say, “All right, bring it on. Bring us down. Let us see what you are made of.”
Those is the kind of schoolyard tactics I do not think Canadians appreciate, and I do not think they want. They expect us to come to this place and stand up for the values in our community, in our country and in the towns and cities that we represent. This is what Canadians sent us here for, to debate these issues. If we are going to change the face of immigration in this country, if we are going to make it harder and more difficult for classes of people to come here, we have to give them a reason. That is what Canada stands for.
Why do people want to come to this country? Because we have a representative democracy where the voice of the people matters, at least in principle, at least on paper. Until we get to this place and we see laws brought in, changes brought in which will fundamentally change the nature of our country and call into question the compassion that we all feel for values and for the people who come and without even be able to debate it.
The government is wrong. It was wrong to do this. It was wrong to add on a measure to kill the RESP tax deductibility provision that this Parliament passed. That was wrong. That was wrong. It was wrong for it to add on budget bill provisions that will change the face of immigration in this country.
This is not what we are here for. You know that. My colleagues across the way, you know that. You know that is not why you were sent here.