Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, as I explained to my hon. colleague during the debate this morning, we listened to Canadians, and listening means listening to all points of view. I know that is something the member has trouble understanding, but that is what we did—

Democratic Reform  —and I am looking forward to working on democratic institutions to strengthen, protect, and improve our system.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for sharing his experience with the town hall process. As I mentioned in my speech, I really appreciate all the members who took the time to engage on this issue and, of course, every Canadian who came forward with many different points of view.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague perhaps to clarify what he means about the situation I am in right now. With respect to what I have heard from opposition members on this, I am quite dismayed with the narrative they have been trying to build. I am incredibly proud to be serving Canadians.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his compliments on my French. I am always working to improve it, and I must say that I was in French immersion in Burlington. That is Canadian bilingualism. Of course it is important for our government and for all members of the House to be able to express their opinions and represent their constituents.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is important first to set the record straight. I am in fact the Minister of Democratic Institutions, and that has been the title of this portfolio for the past several years. It is also important to recognize that we took the time to engage with Canadians, and I do stand by my words in this House before and today.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, there are pluses and minuses to any political system. The system that we have right now is one in which Canadians have confidence, in which Canadians believe, and in which Canadians trust. We as a democracy must continually look to improve, to strengthen, and to understand what our system is.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise to speak to the motion by the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. This is an important debate. Many important affairs of state and issues that matter in the day-to-day lives of Canadians are debated thoughtfully in this chamber, but debating policies and ideas related to Canada's democratic institutions, to the very way we govern ourselves, are foundational to our democracy itself and are among the most important, and they should also be among the least partisan.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, I sincerely hope that is not the road that anyone in this House would go down. It is incumbent upon all of us as Canadians, as leaders, as political leaders in our communities to continue to encourage all Canadians to engage, whether or not they pursue policies that they are championing.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, our government listened to Canadians. It will continue to work on strengthening our democracy. Even though we did not reach a consensus on one specific electoral system to replace the current one, Canadians made it clear that we could do more to improve our democratic institutions.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, I am very honoured to be the youngest woman appointed to cabinet. I am very proud to be a woman here in the House of Commons, and I am very proud to work with a feminist Prime Minister who has a cabinet made up of an equal number of men and women.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, as I would like to repeat in English, I am incredibly proud to be the youngest woman named to cabinet in Canada. I am incredibly proud to be a woman in the House of Commons and I am incredibly proud to work with the Prime Minister, who is a feminist and who has a gender-equal cabinet.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, I am incredibly proud to be part of this caucus that has a good percentage of women, that is incredibly diverse, that represents Canadians, and, most importantly, that listens to Canadians and how they feel about our democracy, which is proud. Our government will continue to act to strengthen our democracy.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, our government will continue to act to strengthen our democracy. While we did not hear a consensus on a particular electoral system to replace the one we have now, Canadians were clear that we could do more to improve our democratic institutions. What we did hear was that Canadians were proud of our democracy.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more foundational than how we choose to govern ourselves as Canadians. We respect the views of Canadians, and we consulted extensively with them on this important issue. We listened to Canadians. We heard that Canadians were proud of our democracy.