Senator Gold: The short answer is no. Everyone in this place, and I mean we as parliamentarians, understands very well how our democratic system works. Elections are held. Voters elect an MP for their riding, and the government is formed by the party with the most support in the House. It is neither unacceptable nor shameful, nor outside the parliamentary norms of our Westminster system, that agreements and arrangements are reached between various parties.

In closing, I would like to point out that most Canadians, over 50%, voted for either the Liberal Party or the NDP. That being said, this agreement between the two parties is quite normal under our parliamentary system.

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