Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for her comments, but I have to correct the record.
First, let me say that the NDP has long proposed a tax credit for small business hiring. We have also proposed reducing small business taxes by 2%. She has erroneously stated that we are opposed to these measures, but she has accurately said that there are measures we support that we have voted against.
Let me just clarify that briefly by quoting the Prime Minister, the leader of her party, who said, in 1994, to the then Liberal government, which was doing exactly the same thing as this government with an omnibus bill:
I just regret that we are proceeding with this omnibus approach to legislation which, because it lumps in things we support and things we do not support, unfortunately deprives us of the ability to support the government in votes where that would be appropriate.
That is exactly the situation here. Can this member explain why her government is undermining democracy with this omnibus budget bill and denying members the right to vote for individual clauses and pieces of legislation we support?