Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona for her excellent speech and her very thoughtful answers. Today we are debating a motion moved by the official opposition, the Conservative Party, an oddly drafted motion that addresses a number of different themes. The wording of the motion feels like a trap.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to present a petition signed by residents of the metropolitan region, including the riding of Mount Royal, who are asking for something pretty far-fetched: they want the percentage of seats occupied by parties in the House to reflect and represent the percentage of votes those parties obtain in an election.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the PM is consistent. He says nothing everywhere. The Prime Minister is fuelling cynicism by breaking his promise of electoral reform and thumbing his nose at the thousands of people who believed in him in good faith. I witnessed this again last Friday when I spoke with university students in Rimouski.

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments and kind words. We need to get back to the basics, the five essential criteria set out by the Supreme Court. Obviously, the safety of our communities is an issue, but this is first and foremost a matter of public health. I also understand that Bill C-37 is not the whole solution but part of a bigger plan.

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments and question. Most of what he said is correct. We have always wanted a government that bases its decisions on science, research, and facts. The facts show that supervised consumption sites work and that they are part of a process to help people overcome their addictions.

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. He pointed out that the NDP, who are progressive, will be supporting Bill C-37, which is finally going in the right direction. However, I am wondering about the following: why, once in power, did the Liberal Party drag its feet for 16 months before introducing a new bill to correct the mistakes made with the Conservatives' C-2?

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Mr. Speaker, I am very touched to be able to rise in the House today to speak to this important bill. I am very touched, but at the same time, I think it is a real shame that we have to talk about this again. This is an extremely important debate. There is likely no other parliamentary debate that is more vital or that will have a greater impact on the lives of Canadians than the debate that we are having right now.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Hochelaga for her comments. She is absolutely right. That is the basic problem with free trade agreements. They give a huge amount of power to major corporations and are detrimental to our interests, our neighbours, and the people in our communities.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, we could double check. According to the information I received, it was three years or three and a half years for changes to the definition of “intellectual property”. However, even if it is two years, that would still have an impact on the price of drugs, which is what we are concerned about.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, yes, we want our companies to be able to grow and export so that they can create jobs. We need to diversify our exports because we are very dependent on our American neighbour. However, we do not want to go about it in just any old way. We cannot accept the dispute settlement mechanism included in the Canada-European Union free trade agreement because it puts too much power in the hands of big companies, large corporations, to the detriment of Canadians, our elected officials, and democratically elected governments.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased an honoured to rise in the House to speak to this important bill. Indeed, the bill relates to an important trade deal, or free trade agreement, with the European Union. We appreciate how natural it seems for Canada to enter into much more intense and closer trade relationships with the European Union, and for a number of reasons.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I was kind of dumbfounded by the minister's speech. I sincerely hope that she never expected to find herself in this position as Minister of Democratic Institutions when she decided to get into politics and offer her services to the Canadian people. Seriously, this is a real shame.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I do appreciate how uncomfortable this must make the Liberal Party spokesperson for this broken promise. The Liberals could at least recognize that a consensus did emerge on the committee struck by the government. The committee produced a report that stated that Canadians should be consulted through a referendum on a proportional system based on certain standards.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. With respect to the attack by the Prime Minister's chief of staff, I would simply say that it is sometimes an honour to be a target. I do not have a problem with that because it means that we have done a good job. I would also like to point out that my colleague is quite right about the government's broken promises piling up, whether it is home mail delivery, or Bill C-51, or the small deficit promised by the Liberals during the election campaign.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Green Party for her question. I would like to acknowledge her continued hope that it is possible to improve our system. I would like the Liberal members to share this hope, because they promised Canadians that they would improve our electoral system.