Quite the opposite, Mr. Speaker: the comments of every Canadian citizen are equally valuable. It is for this very reason that the government should give them all equal weight.
Being the good parliamentary secretary that she is, the member surely knows that the government has valuable and powerful means of consulting Canadians. It is good that she consults her constituents in her capacity as an MP. I am very proud of her. I think that all members here consult their constituents. I know my colleague from Gatineau has done so many times, as have I. Contrary to the member's experience, however, I never hear from my constituents that we should “stay the course”; rather, I hear that we are heading straight for disaster. Every Canadian citizen has his or her own set of views and positions. The important thing is that they are able to express them.
When the government wants to pass a bill, it is its job to consult the people. It is good that members work within their constituencies, but the issue remains that we should bring the debate back to the question of citizens' ability to be heard by the House of Commons. That is not happening.
The member is free to use her props to try to prove that actual consultations took place. The problem is that this government's consultations are always arbitrary. They are never full and meaningful. The government is never willing to bring people before parliamentary committees. It is never willing to allow open and public Web consultations. It is not even willing to pay for a dependable Web service that would allow people to take part in advertised consultations.