Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for York South—Weston.
The opposition motion I am defending here today is directly related to the unfortunate incident that happened here in the House last week during question period.
On September 23, in response to some very specific questions from the Leader of the Opposition about our soldiers' involvement in Iraq, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister gave answers over and over about Israel. It seemed as though the parliamentary secretary was giving prepared answers no matter what the question was.
This incident would be laughable if it had only happened once. However, it is happening more and more under this government. Hardly a day goes by when a member of the Conservative government does not sidestep or evade a question during question period or refuses to answer the legitimate questions we ask on behalf of Canadians. We are witnesses to the grotesque spectacle of ministers who, when they do not simply repeat their talking points like puppets, sidestep the issue altogether.
It is simply unacceptable that the government refuses to answer members who are sent here by their constituents to hold the government to account. Just last week, in addition to the parliamentary secretary, the Prime Minister also refused to clarify our soldiers' involvement in Iraq.
At the very least, could the Prime Minister explain to the House why he plans to send our sons and daughters to shed their blood in Iraq?
The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration put on the same sorry spectacle. When asked several times about welcoming Syrian refugees, he insisted on talking about Iraqi refugees.
This would be laughable if it were not so awful. It is awful because it fuels the public's growing cynicism towards politics and the merits of our democracy.
Quite frankly, when I see the contempt that this government has for the parliamentary system, I understand why more and more voters tell me they no longer trust politicians. They also tell me they do not understand what is going on with question period. They even think it should be renamed from question period to non-answer period.
It is precisely this denial of democracy that illustrates the basic contempt that this government shows with the silent and sorry agreement of its majority.
Allow me to remind all hon. members with all due seriousness that our predecessors, Baldwin and La Fontaine, fought to establish a responsible government in Canada. It is a principle they passed down to us. It is up to us to apply it every day.
To oppose the proper functioning of this parliamentary system, is to disrupt the balance of powers. It is to oppose the essence of democracy and betray the spirit of the founding fathers of our parliamentary system.
To illustrate, I will quote a few words taken from the works of the hon. James Jerome. For those who may not remember, James Jerome was the Speaker of the House of Commons from 1974 to 1980. Through his exemplary work as Speaker, he helped establish the rules for our Parliament. He is known for his book, Mr. Speaker. I will take a quote from there. I ask every member in the House to listen carefully and ponder over this remarkable thought. It is a reminder to us all about our role here. This is what Mr. Jerome said:
If the essence of Parliament is Government accountability, then surely the essence of accountability is the Question Period in the Canadian House of Commons.
That is what is at issue here: getting answers in the name of exercising democratic power. Without this right to ask the government questions, we do not have an accountable government. This government is then accountable to no one.
That is why the Standing Orders of the House are so clear. I would like to quote chapter 11, which reads:
The right to seek information from the Ministry of the day and the right to hold that Ministry accountable are recognized as two of the fundamental principles of parliamentary government. Members exercise these rights principally by asking questions in the House....[T]he search for or clarification of information through questioning is a vital aspect of the duties undertaken by individual Members.
Let us make no mistake about it. Today's events will be a milestone in our political history. They will show how each member sees his or her role and responsibilities as an elected representative.
Those who vote in favour of this motion will show their support for the responsible parliamentary system established in Canada in 1848. The others, those who vote against the motion, will show that they support the sorry spectacle that they took part in on September 23. I understand that from time to time, members may get carried away. We are very passionate about our commitment. We are passionate about serving Canadians. I also acknowledge the sincere and emotional apology that the parliamentary secretary made in the House.
I acknowledge the member's apology, his comments and the applause of his Conservative colleagues, and I understand what they mean. However, what concerns me, beyond the incident itself, is what it says about the majority government, about what the Conservative members think of our parliamentary system. The facts speak for themselves. This government does not think it is accountable to Canadians and their representatives. The government thinks that those representatives are accountable to the government, and the Conservatives members accept that role. That is unacceptable.
I therefore solemnly warn Canadians that we are at a crossroads. On one hand, we have a tired Conservative government that, by refusing to be accountable, is violating Canadians' fundamental rights. On the other, we have the Liberal Party, which, true to form, will not change a thing. Finally, we have the members of the NDP, who are preparing to govern this country and are acting accordingly. We want democratic renewal in this country. We want to change the way politics works. We want the Canadians we represent to get answers to their legitimate questions. We do not want this type of unfortunate incident to ever happen again.
It is therefore high time to give the Speaker of the House the means to intervene and force the government to be accountable to Canadians.
Therefore, I am saying that it begins here and now. As a New Democrat, I want to change this country, I want to change the way we do politics and I want the government to be accountable to Canadians. That is why I unequivocally support this motion. That is also why I am asking government members not to look the other way. Our role as parliamentarians is at stake. Today, they all have an opportunity to erase the memory of the incident of September 23. They can prove that they hold a noble view of their mandate, of our mandate. They must not hesitate, they must not toe the party line and they must vote as representatives of the people and not of the government. I urge them to support the motion.