Mr. Speaker, I would have to say for my hon. friend from York West that I cannot offer any explanations for why amendments are rejected. We can say, though, that there is a pattern.
I have had the great good fortune—and I have to say I was very pleased—that in the committee looking at the pipeline safety act, two of my amendments were accepted. That is far more the exception than the rule. The vast majority of times in this place recently, bills go from first reading to royal assent without any amendments. That is quite against the tradition of the Parliament of Canada and the legislative drafting process and the role we all play as members of Parliament in improving legislation. That is supposed to be the point of the committee process. The legislative process is that we work together to improve legislation, not turn it into a partisan battle over every single amendment.