First Nations Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, as I said, under the Indian Act, any appeals on elections go directly to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. This bill would change that so that appeals would go to the courts I do not know what the member thinks, but I consider the court system in Canada an independent process of appeal.

First Nations Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question, because that is at the base of a fundamental misunderstanding of the difference between a right and a guarantee. As much as we would like to provide guarantees for everyone to have a Mercedes and a three-storey house, we cannot always do that.

First Nations Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time this night with the member for Peace River. I am very happy to have the privilege of speaking in favour of Bill S-6 tonight. As with most of our legislation, some of the main criticisms of this bill have to do with myriad problems this bill neither solves nor addresses.

Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act  Mr. Speaker, my colleague answered some of the question in posing it and I answered some of it in my speech, although I did skip over a lot of the consultation process because I wanted to focus on the results. However, the process of consultation has been included. Over 103 consultation sessions were held in 76 sites across Canada with many different associations.

Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act  Mr. Speaker, we talk about the consultations and our system of Parliament. Every time an election is called or Parliament is prorogued, we reset the clock on all legislation. However, it does not erase the consultations conducted in the past nor our ability to refer to, think about and make wise decisions based on those.

Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act  Mr. Speaker, there are differences between the Quebec Civil Code and the common law system used in the rest of Canada. However, this problem cannot be solved with a single bill, even if it has been introduced three times. This problem has been around since the beginning of Canada's history.

Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act  Mr. Speaker, I was about to share some information about how much consultation had been conducted on this issue and how much debate had been held in the House of Commons and in the Senate. Starting in June 2006, the government appointed a ministerial representative on matrimonial real property issues on reserves to start discussions with first nations communities to produce a report on the consultation process and ultimately to provide legislative options to address the issues.

Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. Minister for Status of Women. I hope the House will forgive me for using my laptop for my notes, but I cannot stand up and I will lose my pages if I try to. I appreciate the opportunity to speak today in support of Bill S-2, the Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act.

Passover  Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to wish the Jewish community a happy Passover. The tragic history of the Jews over the centuries shows us how important religious freedom and tolerance are to the cause of freedom itself. The secret to religious tolerance is to tolerate religious expression, even in public, and not to condemn it in fear that someone who does not share the same belief might overhear it.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I want to comment on this because I feel that some people want to have their cake and eat it too. We have heard talk about being treated like independents, even though we are in a party. It is true that parties are not part of our Constitution, but we do have the right of association and we willingly choose to be part of a party.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, there is no question that the Keystone XL pipeline is in Canada's national interest. It will create tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the border, but the NDP opposes it. Canada's building trade unions strongly support the Keystone pipeline and have a very strong message for Canadians: the NDP would be very bad for workers and the entire Canadian economy.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, is the member suggesting that we cannot have sober or independent thought just because there is a caucus? Does that mean that no members of the NDP in this House have sober or second thought because they are part of a caucus? Our party is allowed to be sober and thoughtful.

Regional Economic Development  Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is focusing on job creation, economic growth and long-term prosperity for all regions of the country. Today, in Rivière-du-Loup, the Prime Minister announced funding for Premier Tech. This assistance will help to support the innovation and commercialization of the company's new products.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, this petition is calling on Parliament to condemn discrimination against girls through sex-selective abortion.

Christmas Season  Mr. Speaker, in this season when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, many of our fellow Canadians who wear the uniform must spend Christmas in conflict far away from loved ones. However, the spirit of Christmas is also the spirit of hope, the spirit that inspired the Christmas truce of 1914 that covered as much as two-thirds of the British-German front in World War I, when thousands of soldiers on both sides, told to hate, loathe and kill, laid down their weapons, left their trenches, extended the hand of friendship and exchanged greetings and gifts and sang songs of goodwill toward men.