Mr. Speaker, the sorcerer's apprentice scene from Fantasia is my mother's favourite. The apprentice arrives, gains access to powerful tools and tries to harness them to make his work easier. He enchants a broom to carry water. At first, it works. The buckets fill and the work is done for him. Then it does not stop. The water keeps pouring. He tries to fix it, but he cannot undo the spell. In panic, he chops the broom in two, only to create more brooms, more buckets and more water. What began as a clever solution quickly becomes something he cannot control and the room begins to flood.
I have been thinking about that story as we debate Bill C-25 because there are parts in this bill that respond to the concerns I hear in my communities. Conservatives have long called for measures to deter abuses like the longest ballot campaigns. We have called for stronger protections against foreign interference, including in leadership and nomination contests. The changes in Bill C-25 start to address the concerns that we have raised around foreign money influencing Canadian elections, and we support these changes. There are a few amendments we think would be prudent: Ballot boxes should be securely stored when polling stations are closed, under triple lock and key. The scope of the expanded offence of making false statements about the results of an election could be clearer. The financial penalties proposed in the bill could be higher.
If we were in the early stages of the sorcerer's apprentice where the brooms were doing their jobs and the buckets were filling as intended, those changes might be enough to restore Canadians' faith in our institutions, but that is not where we are. In the wake of floor crossings and growing regional alienation, there are concerns about fairness in how resources are distributed and a rising sense that decisions are being made behind closed doors for the personal gain of those doing the deciding. For some Canadians, the brooms are everywhere, the buckets are overflowing, and those Canadians are rapidly losing confidence.
In British Columbia, people notice when elections are called before our polls have even closed. They notice when our tax dollars flow east, but do not come back to fund our infrastructure, our hospitals and our communities. With the recent floor crossings, a growing number of people from across the political spectrum are asking me why they should bother voting.
When people start questioning whether their vote matters, we should all take notice because that is not frustration with a single policy or a single party. It is indicative of something deeper, a feeling that their voice no longer carries weight, that the outcome is predetermined elsewhere, that our democracy is not quite functioning as it should. It may be a minority of voices at this point, but once that feeling takes hold, it is very difficult to reverse. People do not disengage all at once. They disengage step by step. First, they question. Then, they doubt. Eventually, they go quiet and stop participating altogether.
This is not a problem we can regulate away. It is a problem we have to address through how we conduct ourselves as a democracy. In that context, Bill C-25 does some very valuable tinkering around the edges, but it fails to truly meet the moment that we are in.
I have spoken to many of these concerned Canadians. The gap between this Parliament and those agnostics is fundamentally one of trust: trust that decision-makers really see their struggles and understand their hopes and dreams, trust that ministers will do their best to serve Canadians and not enrich themselves along the way. Trust that the person they elected is still who they said they were when they were asking for their vote.
If we are, as the Prime Minister has said, living through a moment of rupture, vulnerable to the whims of a hostile America, then this is a time when Canada needs its best ideas to rise to the top. That does not happen by accident. It happens when ideas are tested, challenged and improved upon through open and rigorous debate. An environment where opposition questions are treated as obstruction is not one where strong ideas can emerge. It is one where the weak ideas go untested. When questions are discouraged, when those who ask them are mocked in this chamber, when scrutiny is dismissed, we materially increase the risk of getting it wrong.
It is in the national interest to have an opposition that can ask hard questions. It is nation building to stress-test policy proposals in order to find gaps, unintended consequences and missed opportunities. That is how policies are strengthened. That is how we avoid costly mistakes. That is how we move our country forward.
The moment that we accept the frame that our society is divided into two enemy camps, one virtuous and one irredeemably wrong, our society loses something that is mission-critical. Probing, questioning and challenging are what a healthy democracy depends on. In moments like this, where we need to find and embrace our best ideas, we should be making more room for opposition and questioning, not less. Canada's success depends on every member of this House being able to serve their constituents fully, regardless of which side of the aisle they sit on. That is how we truly arrive at the best ideas. It is not by protecting them from criticism, but by putting them under pressure and seeing what holds.
Former Prime Minister Diefenbaker was known for the sentiment that there is no bad seat in the House of Commons. Every seat in this place carries equal responsibility and legitimacy, regardless of whether its member sits in government or opposition. This week, there is a much-needed reminder that MPs are here to put Canada first, not to seek power for themselves. A government that serves only the ridings it holds weakens the country and undermines our collective purpose. It divides Canadians and pits region against region. A system that discourages questioning weakens its ability to correct itself.
In Canada today, a new Prime Minister has arrived on the scene much like the sorcerer's apprentice. He has gained access to powerful tools, and I will concede that he has harnessed them effectively to achieve the majority government that he insists will make his work easier. He has enchanted a certain demographic, the media and some floor-crossers to wield brooms, fill buckets and carry water.
However, there are lessons to be learned from the sorcerer's apprentice to ensure the water does not turn into a flood and to stem the tide of disappointment that Canadians are expressing about behaviour in this place. Any MP who cannot effectively represent their riding from any seat in this House has no business being here. Any government that requires MPs to cross the floor to provide for their ridings is one that undermines the foundations of democracy and should be summarily dispatched at the ballot box.
I implore the Prime Minister to recognize these two simple principles: embrace the value of the opposition, especially in this moment, and answer the questions we ask in question period. Stop trying to enchant the brooms and the buckets and be a government that makes space for all Canadians, regardless of the colour of their party banner. If we do that, the best ideas will rise to the top and we will be able to move this country forward.
We need the government to work with us to strengthen Bill C-25 in committee. If the government does that, then Bill C-25 might help restore Canadians' faith in our system. It might help bring down the temperature and rebuild trust. However, if it does not, we should not be surprised if the brooms and the buckets keep multiplying and the water keeps rising until the floods are upon us.