Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, his background and the context he provided. I would suggest that all members of this place, especially the Liberals, could maybe take lessons from him. Even though he is a member of a separatist party, he certainly has a better grasp on the role of a member of Parliament than the backbenchers of the Liberal Party. It comes to the very foundation of what we are as parliamentarians. I tell students who I speak with, and I speak with them on a regular basis, that it is one of the coolest things about Canadian democracy.
I would ask this question. How many votes, and I cannot say their names, but I would name the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, other MPs and myself as well, do we get to cast on election day? It seems like a trick question, but the answer is one. We all get to cast one vote as Canadians. Likewise, when somebody is elected, we get to occupy the honour of one seat in this place.
I ask this question. How many seats does the Prime Minister occupy, does the Leader of the Opposition occupy? Again, it is one seat.
It is the duty of every member of Parliament, regardless of their political background, regardless of their history, to take seriously that obligation, as MPs, to stand up for the people who sent them here, to be the Parliament, in this case the 44th Parliament, to stand up, regardless of one's political interests because that is the point.