Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his very pertinent question.
He is quite right. The name of the museum speaks volumes. That is why we wanted to keep the name Museum of Civilization and simply add “history and”. This would have added another dimension to the museum's mandate, which, of course, is very pertinent at this particular time. Canada's 150th anniversary is coming up, and now would be a good time to reinvigorate our history and museums sector. We completely support this initiative. I understand that some museums are excited about the possibility of receiving artifacts from major museums like the one in Ottawa.
The problem is that in order to do so, the act has to be used. At this time, what the minister and the current president of the museum want to do is destroy what is already in place, rather than complement it. The proposed name change would maintain the focus on research and the study of civilizations. This is extremely popular and relevant.
I would simply like to say that, fundamentally, our rationale for these amendments is that we simply do not trust this government and do not want to give it carte blanche. Clearly, any time we give them an inch, they take a mile. Everyone can see that the close ties that appear to exist between the museum management and the minister and his ambitions are very troubling, and that is what we are trying to limit.