Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I realize the member loves to attack and I am fine with receiving the attack, but I am not really sure what the attack was or what the question is at the end of the day. It was an imperfect government, like all governments. Its problems were pointed out. I want to remind the member that for me that was six Parliaments ago.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, what matters here are the subjects. What are the subjects? My colleague asked the question about burying things that look small but have big implications. The subject matters the government chooses are interesting. They are often in areas that have the greatest controversy and do the biggest harm to the majority of, in this case Ontarians, and here of course, Canadians.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, we stand up and call the Conservatives on it and they do everything they can to extinguish the discussion. They say we should not have that debate because it is upsetting them and their supporters. That is what they are trying to do. They are trying to muzzle as much democracy as they can.

Business of Supply  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate members helping to underscore my point, because that is exactly what they did by responding that way. My point is that democracy in our country is being undermined. Scrutinizing budget bills is one of the most important things that opposition members do.

Business of Supply  I was wrong, Mr. Speaker, and you have probably done me a favour because I would have heard from my mom anyway. I apologize to both you and the only higher authority I would acknowledge on the planet, which would be my mom. I have to stop doing that. There is another word I use that I think is okay and it not okay.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, somebody else seems to want to have the floor—

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, maybe I will just start referencing who is heckling. We are talking about Walkerton and Ontarians died. There is nothing funny about that and I am not spinning it. I believe seven people died and the inquest showed that one of the reasons it happened was because of the regulations the government cut and because of money it cut in those departments.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to join in the debate. I will begin by adding my voice to those who have complimented our colleague, the deputy critic for democratic reform, for doing an awesome job on a very complex file. I will make reference to an article in The Globe and Mail that reads: A dramatic confrontation in the Ontario Legislature ended yesterday in a major victory for the opposition parties and forced the Progressive Conservatives to agree to extensive public hearings on the government's sweeping omnibus legislation.

Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act  Mr. Speaker, I would have to think the member believes they are minor. Otherwise, he would have a private member's bill in the House that would turn everything into a penitentiary penalty. The fact of the matter is that there is a difference between speeding and a minor offence for which a person would receive a four to six-month sentence versus someone who has been sent off to a penitentiary for 20 years.

Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act  Mr. Speaker, my friend can play games about me being a conspiracy theorist, which is fine, but I fully confess that after spending eight years in a Conservative House, one becomes very concerned about conspiracies. I have no problem with that. However, what I really want to focus on is whether the minister should get more power and whether it is reasonable that we would be so concerned about giving him that power.

Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act  Mr. Speaker, all I can say is that the member has answered the question herself. The member is a lawyer, so she knows far more about this than I do. As a layperson, I will just say this, when we pass a law it says to someone that they have been found wrong and that we are going to take action.

Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to add my comments to the debate. We have said that we will support sending the bill to committee. Obviously a lot more information is needed. That has come out in the comments already, and I expect will continue for the balance of the afternoon.

100th Anniversary Celebrations  Mr. Speaker, constituents throughout my riding of Hamilton Centre have recently had the good fortune to participate in 100th anniversary celebrations, not just once, not even twice, but three times this past month. Early last month, I was pleased to attend the 100th anniversary of the founding of St.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims Act  Mr. Speaker, that is not fair. It takes me that long to clear my throat. Let me just quickly say that I agree with almost everything my friend said. I cannot answer the last part. That really is kind of a legal procedural question as to where its next step ought to be in the system.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims Act  Mr. Speaker, I will now fall back on the good will I hope I generated when I spoke to you earlier. I would ask you to recognize that I neglected to say at the beginning of my remarks that I will be splitting my time with the member for La Pointe-de-l'Île. I hope you will accept that now.