Mr. Speaker, as it is my first time taking the floor in the House in this session of Parliament, I want to begin by thanking the voters of Saanich—Gulf Islands for the trust they have placed in me to continue to serve them. It is the honour of my life to do so. I am extremely grateful to the 350 volunteers who helped so diligently, some of them working seven days a week and around the clock. I will never be able to thank them enough.
On behalf of many constituents, I am rising to present a petition, and not for the first time, from petitioners who point out that there is a strong desire across the country for electoral reform. They point out that an Angus Reid poll conducted recently, this last September, found that 85% of respondents want to see a citizens' assembly choose a form of electoral reform to replace the perverse first-past-the-post system.
To summarize, they are petitioning for the government of the day to put in place a mechanism to find a consensus among Canadian citizens who want to see fair voting that reflects the will of the voting public to make sure that the Parliament voters get is the Parliament voters voted for. They are calling for a citizens' assembly on electoral reform to be completed within 12 months and for recommended changes to be put in place before the next election.