“I want us to pass this motion. When a government has a majority of the seats in the House, it should also have a majority on committees. That is our tradition, it works well, and we should keep following it.”

“Mr. Speaker, I think we should be looking at the motion for what it is. It is very straightforward. For majority governments, there is parliamentary tradition, not only here in Canada but also outside it in the Commonwealth. If a majority of membership makes up the House of Commons, a majority of membership makes up our standing committees. There is a very good reason for it. There is no reason for us to go against a tradition that has actually been very effective for Canada as a nation for generations, and I would hope the Conservatives see the value of it. I am sure that if the shoe were on the other foot, they would probably see the value in it. Does the member not believe that we should be following parliamentary tradition?”

“We have a majority in the House of Commons. We should also have a majority on the committees, because that is the tradition here. I want to know if the member supports that tradition.”

“Mr. Speaker, tomorrow will be the one-year anniversary of the last federal election. Canadians responded very favourably to our new Prime Minister when he talked about working together as a team to build a stronger, healthier Canada that is strong for all and looking for collaboration, for people to work with. If we have individuals who want to be a part of that team, I see that as a positive. Yes, we got a majority through three by-elections where a majority of Canadians voted for those three candidates. Having said that, the very substance of the motion we are dealing with today is to have a majority, as we have in the House, in our standing committees. That is a parliamentary tradition. Does the member support parliamentary tradition?”