I have two numbers for this week's Thursday statement.
The first number is 70, which is the number of times this government has moved time allocation or closure motions since the beginning of this Parliament.
That is the worst record of any government in the history of Canada. Never has there been a worse government when it comes to opting out of or not wanting to engage in a rigorous legislative process. As we know, this is causing serious problems.
For example, half a dozen bills have been rejected by the courts since this government came to power. Almost another half-dozen had to be redone because the government botched them the first time around when it refused to follow a rigorous legislative process. It was forced to introduce other bills to fix the problems that were in the first versions. That is it for the first number.
The second figure they were mentioning today, the figure of the week, is 49. Forty-nine is the number of missed speaking shifts by Conservative MPs since we began evening sessions.
Mr. Speaker, you will recall that last week Conservatives were saying they were going to work hard they were going to work in the evening, but it is now 49 times that they have not shown up for their speaking spots. They missed their speaking shifts.
Nurses and doctors show up for their shifts in the hospital. Construction workers and labourers show up on the job site. Servers and hotel workers show up for their shifts. Canadians are very hard-working. Canadians show up for their shifts, and Conservatives should show up for theirs. That is what we feel.
My question is very simple. Will Conservative MPs finally show up this evening for their speaking spots?
Second, will they actually allow the official opposition to help correct the many problems that their legislation has and subject their legislation to rigorous legislative tests, which means that instead of putting in closure and time allocation, they actually allow for healthy debate in the House of Commons? Will they allow for healthy debate?