I hear grumbles on the other side, but it has to be said.
Mr. Speaker, we either respect the rules of this place, the privileges of parliamentarians and the will of Parliament, or we live in a state that is not a democracy. Again, the Liberal government has repeatedly done this. It has repeatedly refused the will of Parliament. Also, frankly, we have had people called to the bar of this place to be admonished for carrying out the will of the government and obfuscating the will of Parliament, which is unprecedented. I think it happened maybe over 100 years ago.
When I talk about my power and my privileges and where those come from, they come from the people I represent and the rules of this place. I have to remind members of the governing party who do not hold a government position, a position in the executive, that it is their role to also hold the government to account. I understand partisanship, and I understand party whips, but there is a point at which people have to look up the food chain and have constructive dissent to say that something is not right and it is not the will of their constituents. They need to say that they are here to uphold their constituents' interests. I have done that from time to time in this place because I know where my power comes from, and I will not cede that power in any way, shape or form.
It is very disappointing for me to watch members of the governing party, who have been here for a hot minute, as they were elected in 2015, but who have never had to challenge their party in any meaningful way. This is a critical juncture, when they are behind a feckless leader who cannot tell right from wrong in any circumstance. He is literally just trying to find a better job, which he is not going to find. That is why he is clinging to power so desperately. At that point in time, that caucus should be challenging him on everything that he does because he has led his party into a state of moral oblivion.
It is the moral responsibility of the members of the governing party, as the backbenchers in that party, to say that they are not doing this, and at the very least, to do it on this issue. I hear members literally reading off the PMO-approved questions for the day to try to suggest that carrying out the will of Parliament is somehow a charter violation. Come on. It is also their privilege that was breached, by the way, and all of their constituents' privileges that were breached. This is why they will lose their seats in the next election. Why is that? It is because their constituents are losing the sense that they are willing to stand up for them no matter what the PMO says, no matter what the party leader says, and they see they do not have that sense of right from wrong.
This is a pretty clear case of right and wrong. It really is. We have people from very disparate political backgrounds in this place, from the left of the spectrum to the right of the spectrum, saying that we might not agree on policy, and we might not agree on how to deal with an emergent issue, but we are going to agree on one thing, which is that, if this country is supposed to carry out its business to live in a peaceful pluralism, then the rules of this place have to function. They absolutely have to function, and they are not functioning.
That is why we are debating the motion that is before us today. It has been encouraging to hear members of different political stripes say that we can disagree on much but that they are going to agree to uphold the rules of this place. The question then becomes this: At what point do other members of this place stop propping up a government that continues, time and again, day in and day out, to ignore the rules? The government just says that they do not apply to it. It does not even look for ways out or for loopholes; it just ignores the rules of this place. Again, this is not the first time; it is one of countless instances. I have given only two here.
The Prime Minister has breached ethics violations. Members filibuster privilege motions just so they cannot move forward. It is in those moments that the number one priority for all of us who do not hold a government appointment and are not part of the executive branch of government is to hold the government to account. That might be in a caucus meeting or whatnot, but at some point in time we have to say “no, not today, you guys”.
I am hoping there will be members of the Liberal backbench who, at the very least, would do one of two things: abstain on the motion if they cannot find the courage to vote for it, or at least not ask questions that have been repeated by the government House leader. I like to see women in strong roles in the House of Commons; I think it inspires other women to do the same. However, I do not like to hear them repeat the talking points of a feckless man who clearly has lost the moral authority to govern. It is disappointing to me. I also hope that some of the cabinet ministers will think, will look within their heart and will say that they are tired of doing this and that they will not do it anymore.
I have said why it is so important for us to vote in favour of the motion. However, I also understand, as so many people in this place have said, that because we are having to debate another instance of the government's flagrantly dismissing the privileges of the people in this place, we are not debating the business of making life more affordable for Canadians, making it more safe for Canadians to live within their homes and trying to find homes for Canadians. Many do not have a home. There was a report today that said that within eight years the rent in Montreal for, I think, a two-bedroom apartment would be close to $5,000. That would be the average rent in under a decade.
We are on a course of abject failure in this country, but we cannot address any of the issues and have a constructive debate if the rules of this place are not being followed. Therefore I ask the government to end this today by handing the documents over, obeying the will of this place and respecting our democracy so we can move on, on behalf of our constituents.