Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by congratulating all of my colleagues who have been re-elected, but I would especially like to congratulate the new, first-time members who will participate in this House, which is an incredibly important institution in our country. Congratulations, and I wish you well.
Three times now, Canadians have elected a Parliament—including this 40th one—in which no party has a majority. Canadians expect us to learn how to better work together. I dare say that one of the best ways to work together is to improve the decorum, civility and respect for others we must have in this House.
I am not saying that everyone must agree, because this is a partisan house. It is a place where we defend principles and ideals, and there will surely be heated debates and so forth.
However, I think that Canadians are expecting all of us to be better behaved.
I have been here for 13 years now and I have seen a gradual decline in the level of civility, the lack of respect for each other and I believe Canadians expect more. I am not the only one who believes that.
Members may recall, those members who were here when the Hon. Ed Broadbent spoke one of the last times before leaving, what Mr. Broadbent said in 2005. He said:
Those who will remain after the next election...should give some serious thought to the decline in civility in the debate that has occurred in the House of Commons and which occurs daily in question period. If I were a teacher, I would not want to bring high school students into question period any longer.
I think that those of us in the House, as well as Canadians in general, are eager to see an improvement in decorum and in the tone of our debates. Each of us has a part to play to make this happen. However, I believe that the Speaker also plays a role. I want to say that if I should become Speaker, I would ensure that the rules are applied fairly and that the level of debate and mutual respect improve every day, week and month.
There is another way in which this lack of civility, and sometimes animosity, manifests itself outside the House, which needs to be addressed. I know this will not be very popular among members but I am talking about 10 percenters. For people who are listening to us, I will explain what this is. Most Canadians know that members of Parliament have the privilege of sending printed material to every home in their riding four times a year. However, what people may not know is that we are also entitled to send printed material to 10% of the homes in our riding any number of times and this is paid for by the House budget.
What has happened over the last few years is that we have taken to sending these 10 percenters to other members' ridings and they have quite often turned into methods of an attack of sitting MPs, always at public expense. It is not an appropriate use of members' privileges and it is not an appropriate use of taxpayer money. I would try to endeavour to ensure we are limited to sending those out in our own riding as is appropriate.
Mr. Speaker, there is another reason why I have not withdrawn my candidacy today. It has to do with Canada's linguistic duality. I would like to quote another very honourable Canadian, the Right Hon. Joe Clark, who said:
I learned the other official language here, learned it in my fashion. That helped me understand that the distinct society is not a dead phrase in a constitution, but the living reality of most of French-speaking Canada, and a defining feature of our history and our future.
I believe that all members in this House should be able to address their Speaker without the help of an intermediary. We must remember that the Speaker has a protocol role and acts as our representative to Canadians.
I have sat on both sides of the House and had experience both in cabinet and on the Board of Internal Economy. Backed by the Clerk's excellent team, I believe that I can do the work needed and elevate the level of debate in this House to the benefit of us all, to the benefit of all Canadians and to the benefit of our profession.
