Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague's speech, and I would like to reiterate that we should be proud of the fact that, in Canada, all parties represented in the House of Commons have made a solemn commitment to strengthen our democracy.
One of the things that struck me was her remarks about political financing. In a way, René Lévesque was the father of public financing of political parties in Canada. Later, Mr. Chrétien essentially implemented the same system. The two original proposals contained provisions on public funding of political parties.
Personally, I agree that political parties are a public good and are essentially made up of volunteers. They are entities unlike any others in our democracy, and our political parties are often put to the test and scrutinized. It is the most closely monitored “industry” in Canada, but I also commend political parties that are made up of volunteers and are a public good.
I am therefore wondering whether the member could elaborate on her vision of public funding in Canada, while acknowledging the groundwork that has been laid to ensure the integrity of our funding system.