Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Pontiac, who works very hard representing the people in his part of the country, which is a very large riding. Sometimes we feel better when we take a look around us. I feel good looking at my colleague's riding from my beautiful Outaouais region.
I liked his speech for a number of reasons. The message we have been sending the government this morning is extremely important: the NDP will support the bill at second reading to get it to committee.
Having said that, this bill is not perfect. In my opinion, nothing is perfect. In this context, we would hope that our friends opposite are prepared to listen to the different viewpoints of the various stakeholders.
The government presents us with its bills as though they were perfect, necessary and very important. I am always surprised to see how long it takes them to introduce their bills. In fact, we have been waiting for this bill for five years.
Can my colleague explain why it has taken five years? Why has the government taken so long to introduce this bill, which various stakeholders have been asking for?