Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my hon. colleague for a thoughtful speech. I would like to get his views on the following.
First, I have heard members opposite say that we have to have a second chamber to counter what they have termed “majoritarian rule”. I am reminded that four provinces in the country did have senates at one time and managed to abolish them and retain one body in the province governed by the principal of majority rule without any noticeable deterioration with respect to democracy. I wonder if the member could comment on that.
Second, I would like to ask his views on the issue of equality. As we know, there are 6 senators in British Columbia, which has 4.5 million people, and there are 4 senators in Prince Edward Island, which has 140,000 people or 1/40 of the population of British Columbia. I wonder if the member could comment on the prospect of having a chamber in our Government of Canada that is so grossly disproportionate in terms of equality.