Mr. Speaker, first of all, I believe the topic of Senate reform is one of worthy debate, and I think it is wonderful that we are having that debate here tonight. However, the form and substance of the motion ahead of us talks about whether or not we should be providing funding to the Senate in the upcoming year.
Now, if one would search of the Parliament of Canada website under “how a bill becomes a law”, one would read that it is first passed through one House and then passed through a second House. This implies that in order to pass legislation, we need the Senate to review it under the current constitutional processes.
If I understand the form and substance of the motion correctly, the NDP is asking us to shut down the House of legislation, which would allow bills, such as the one proposed by the member for Timmins—James Bay that passed this House, to stall and completely shut down the entire legislative process in this country.
Could my colleague possibly comment on the utility of that motion, as well as the possible outcomes and effect on the average Canadian citizen of shutting down the legislative process in this country entirely?