Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2007-05-07 16:10:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Nathan Cullen (Skeena\u2014Bulkley Valley, NDP)",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"599863\" data-originallang=\"en\">Mr. Speaker, for those watching at home I need to clarify the Liberals' position here. The question that was asked was, \u201cWhat is wrong with an institution within a democracy in which no vote is cast?\u201d</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"599864\" data-originallang=\"en\">By most traditional definitions of a democracy, there is some sort of issuance of the public opinion, whereby the citizens of a country get to express their opinion and place in the stead of their voices the elected officials. That is what the foundation of democracy has been. The Liberals have somehow confused themselves with the notion that while the Senate is placed with well-heeled fundraisers and political friends that somehow represents a shining moment in the democratic process.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"599865\" data-originallang=\"en\">We disagree with much of what is being said by the government on this issue. We think this is a band-aid approach to a fundamentally flawed institution. Anybody who knows the NDP and has voted NDP knows that this has been a very clear policy for many years for us.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"599866\" data-originallang=\"en\">I have a question for my hon. colleague, who has said a wide range of things. On this value for money question, has he done any estimates on how much it actually costs to sustain this place of privilege, this place where appointments are given by fundraising capacity for a particular friend? Then that cost must be justified against his own government's appointment of its senator into cabinet when the Conservatives were unable to win a seat in the Montreal area and then chose to appoint someone into the cabinet. It seems contradictory in terms to use what we all agree is a terrible method. Now it seems that the government has hypocrisy in its midst. I wonder if he can explain that to Canadians.</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"599863\" data-originallang=\"en\">Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, pour les t\u00e9l\u00e9spectateurs, je dois pr\u00e9ciser la position des lib\u00e9raux ici. La question qui a \u00e9t\u00e9 pos\u00e9e, c'est \u00ab Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas avec une institution au sein d'une d\u00e9mocratie, dont aucun membre n'est \u00e9lu? \u00bb </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"599864\" data-originallang=\"en\">Selon les d\u00e9finitions les plus traditionnelles de la d\u00e9mocratie, l'opinion du public est exprim\u00e9e d'une fa\u00e7on ou d'une autre, ce qui permet aux citoyens de choisir les personnes qui leur serviront de repr\u00e9sentants \u00e9lus et qui parleront en leur nom. Voil\u00e0 ce qui a toujours \u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 la base de la d\u00e9mocratie. Les lib\u00e9raux ont r\u00e9ussi \u00e0 se convaincre \u00e0 tort que m\u00eame si le S\u00e9nat est entre les mains d'agents de financement bien nantis et d'amis politiques, il repr\u00e9sente encore en quelque sorte une \u00e9tape du processus d\u00e9mocratique dont nous pouvons \u00eatre fiers.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"599865\" data-originallang=\"en\">Nous ne souscrivons pas \u00e0 beaucoup de ce que le gouvernement dit \u00e0 ce sujet. Nous croyons qu'il s'agit d'une solution de fortune pour r\u00e9former une institution fondamentalement imparfaite. Quiconque conna\u00eet le NPD, et a vot\u00e9 pour ce parti, sait que nous pr\u00e9conisons clairement cette politique depuis bien des ann\u00e9es.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"599866\" data-originallang=\"en\">J'aimerais poser une question \u00e0 mon coll\u00e8gue, qui a abord\u00e9 un grand nombre de sujets diff\u00e9rents. En ce qui concerne la question du rapport qualit\u00e9-prix, a-t-il une id\u00e9e approximative de ce que nous co\u00fbte r\u00e9ellement ce lieu de privil\u00e8ge, ce lieu o\u00f9 les nominations d'amis sont faites en fonction de leurs capacit\u00e9s \u00e0 recueillir des fonds? Son propre gouvernement devra alors justifier ce co\u00fbt par rapport \u00e0 sa nomination d'un s\u00e9nateur au Cabinet \u2014 quand les conservateurs ont \u00e9t\u00e9 incapables de faire \u00e9lire un d\u00e9put\u00e9 dans la r\u00e9gion de Montr\u00e9al, ils ont choisi de nommer une personne au Cabinet. Il semble contradictoire d'utiliser une m\u00e9thode qui \u2014 nous nous entendons tous \u00e0 ce sujet \u2014 est une m\u00e9thode terrible. Maintenant, il semblerait que le gouvernement soit empreint d'hypocrisie. Je me demande si le d\u00e9put\u00e9 peut expliquer tout ceci aux Canadiens.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2007/5/7/nathan-cullen-1/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/nathan-cullen/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/1287/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "2059509",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Government Orders",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Senate Appointment Consultations Act",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2007/5/7/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2007%2F5%2F7%2F"
    }
}