I listened intently to what my friends in government were saying this morning. I know it’s only 10 o’clock in the morning, but I move to ask a bit of a big-picture question to solicit a response from either member: What’s the purpose of government?

Because for me, when I think about a debate on a bill like this, I think the purpose of government is to make sure there’s equal opportunity for people to seek redress when they’re harmed. That’s a major responsibility. And sadly, what I’ve seen in the last five years as I’ve been in this place is the end of the Environmental Commissioner, the end of the French language commissioner.

And when we have been offering in debate the prospect of a consumer watchdog—this is what the member from Humber River–Black Creek, our lead on this, has insisted that the government take on—we have not seen that taken up. What I fear is, for people in this House and others like us in Ontario who have the means and the capacity to fight for our consumer rights, the status quo may be fine. But as the member from London North Centre said very clearly, people are going to continue to fall between the cracks.

It’s an invitation to either member: There is a lot of good stuff in this bill, but would you propose a strong consumer watchdog to ensure that people who don’t have the resources that people like us do in this House can fight for their rights when they are harmed?