“The government is using this motion to give itself an unfair majority on committees. Can the government leader name any other time this was done? I want him to explain why they are doing it now.”

“Mr. Speaker, our colleagues opposite are certainly not wrong to say that the composition of committees should reflect the composition of the House. It is true that, according to British parliamentary tradition, a majority in the House normally means a majority on committees. However, that does not mean we have to agree with how things are done. We understand that the government has a short fuse and wants to limit debate. Now, I would like the House leader opposite if he can share any recent examples, from either this Parliament or the provincial legislatures, of governments with very slim majorities that have used motions or gag orders to give themselves a supermajority on committees by adding two members instead of one. I would like him to explain why the government decided unilaterally to grant itself a much larger majority on committees than its majority in the House. I would like to know whether this is in keeping with British House traditions.”

“Canadians already do not trust Parliament. The government wants to change the rules to take control of committees, even though voters did not elect a majority government. It is ignoring what voters chose.”

“Mr. Speaker, what is the world coming to? As we know, only one in three Canadians has confidence in Parliament and our institutions, according to Statistics Canada. Today, the government is telling us that it wants to fight cynicism. Democracy is not just a slogan that can be repeated over and over again in press releases and here in the House. Words have meaning. Today, the government is telling us that it wants to change the rules because it managed to recruit some members who were not originally on its side. Now that it has a majority in the House, the government also wants a majority on committees. However, voters did not give this government a majority mandate. How can we counter cynicism when the government acts in this way? It does not respect the will of the people. Does my colleague believe that fighting cynicism means not respecting citizens’ choices and what they voted for?”

“Only one in three people in Canada trusts Parliament. The government wants to give itself majority power, even though Canadians did not vote for that. I want the minister to explain how doing this helps democracy.”

“Mr. Speaker, allow me to quote the member for Gatineau, the government House leader, who told the House on April 16, “Canada’s democracy is one of the most stable and strongest in the world, but it would be unwise to take this for granted.” I have news for him: Only one in three people in Canada trusts Parliament. What the government wants is to give itself a majority, even though that is not what the people voted for. It says that it wants to do this in order to fight cynicism. I would like my colleague to tell me how his government can claim to be strengthening democracy in Canada while acting against the express will of the people.”

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“The government claims it is following tradition by taking a majority on committees, even though voters did not give them one. But Parliament also has a tradition of talking to opposition parties, and the government did not do that. Did they forget this tradition?”

“Mr. Speaker, the government is saying that it respects tradition and that this is why it should have a majority on committees, despite the will of the people, who did not give the government that majority. I simply wish to remind the government that there is also a tradition here in Parliament of consulting the opposition parties. Today, however, there has been no such consultation. Can my colleague tell me whether, by any chance, he has forgotten that consulting the opposition parties is one of Parliament’s traditions?”

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