The Senate  Mr. Speaker, Canadians mandated us to provide real change to the Senate without opening up the Constitution. I was pleased to announce at the beginning of December, with the House leader, the implementation of a new merit-based assessment process that is public, made available o

The Senate  Mr. Speaker, the advisory board will be guided by a public, merit-based criteria that will allow it to assess the nominees according to those rules. For the first time we have opened the doors and we are reaching out to the provinces with the vacancies to be filled. Again, that

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his service to my ancestral land and would like to remind him that the government is committed to addressing poverty. Our middle-class tax cut is one example. Our initiative around providing a new benefit plan for families with children will l

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to point out that about 100 years ago this week the women in Manitoba fought and won the right to vote. We are in another stage of moving forward on revolutionary historic changes that will enhance our existing system. The way w

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, here we are in the new year with somewhat the same question from the member. What I have heard clearly from Canadians is that there is a range of differing opinions. We intend to respect the intelligence of Canadians by engaging in a thorough and meaningful convers

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Nickel Belt for sharing his time with me. I really appreciate it. It is with a great deal of pride and humility that I stand for the first time on debate in the House of Commons on this traditional territory of the Algonquin peoples. It i

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, it is essential that we begin a conversation with Canadians and parliamentarians about how we will bring our voting system into the 21st century. That is why we are bringing forward historic changes to the electoral system. We will engage Canadians in an open and tra

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, as I have been clear in this House all week, we will convene an all-party committee to review the process and to ensure that it is a collaborative one and a thoughtful one. We believe decisions on this issue deserve to be approached in such a manner, and I look forwa

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, if we want Canadians to trust that their votes really matter, we must be willing, as members of Parliament, to set aside party preoccupations and undertake a serious examination of the way elections work. We want to explore this issue in the right way. That means th

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, I can appreciate the member opposite's new-found passion for public consultations. Allow me to reiterate. In the months ahead, Canadians will have an ongoing conversation about electoral reform, a conversation that will answer many questions, not just one. I can ap

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, allow me to try it this way. As part of a national engagement process, we will ensure that electoral reform measures, such as ranked ballot, proportional representation, mandatory voting, and online voting, are fully and fairly studied and considered. As part of tha

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, we firmly believe that a decision on an issue as important as this deserves a thoughtful and comprehensive process. We will not prejudge the outcome of this process. Early in the new year, I will work with the House leader to convene an all-party parliamentary commit

Democratic Institutions  Mr. Speaker, Canadians entrusted us with a mission to restore the integrity in our electoral process, to restore fairness, and to ensure that every vote counts. We will deliver on that process, and we have committed to engaging the people of our country, young and young at heart,

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, for the first time in 10 years, Canadians are being listened to. Canadians voted for change and they voted for a change in our electoral process. We will be delivering on that commitment. I will be working with the government House leader to convene an all-party parl

The Senate  Mr. Speaker, for the first time, we are offering the provinces and territories an open door to be part of this non-partisan, merit-based appointment process. For the first time, we have published the criteria upon which the advisory board will be assessing the merits of these ne