Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this bill is the right thing to do. A number of us supported this kind of change in the 13th Assembly, but we were not successful then. It is time now that this bill passes.
I would also like to address the issue of legality that my colleague brought up. I believe it is our responsibility as legislators to also uphold and respect the laws of Canada. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the law in Canada, and we are told by the government's legal experts that if we are taken to court on this issue, we will be forced to act. We will have to enact legislation just like this bill. Mr. Speaker, we should respect the law now and should not be forced by the courts to respect the law.
We are being told this by the same legal experts who told this government and this House that if we did not respect the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when it came to representation by population, the courts would impose a decision on us. Many Members in this House did not listen to that advice and insisted that we go to court and fight it. That did nothing but enrich a few lawyers and cause us in the end to adopt a law that respected the Canadian Charter anyway. I am surprised that my colleague would say that those lawyers who were right then about the same law are wrong now. I respectfully submit that they are right and we would lose if this went to court.
Therefore, Mr. Speaker, the only responsible course for us is to pass this law. If we choose to fight it, if this government is forced to fight it, again all we are going to be doing is spending money on lawyers instead of on nurses or teachers or other people that work on the front lines to serve our constituents.
Mr. Speaker, I say let us do the right thing and let us spend the money in far more important areas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.