Mr. Speaker, I listened to the speech given by my colleague, whom I know very well. I have had the pleasure of serving with him on a few different occasions. He is such a skilled orator, I am surprised that he did not get a cabinet position.
I would like to hear what he thinks about political party financing. I know he was a strong advocate for the principle established by former prime minister Jean Chrétien, specifically that financing should be based on two rules: one, only people who have the right to vote should be allowed to contribute, and not businesses or associations; and two, because that means lower revenues for political parties, and in order to prevent another sponsorship scandal, the federal government should contribute $2 per vote, similarly to what is done in some provinces. The previous government changed that policy and eliminated the $2-contribution.
Would the member not agree that we should go back to the principles established by Jean Chrétien when he proposed the bill on political party financing, which was then based on voters' contributions and government compensation to existing political parties?