Hon. Céline Hervieux-Payette:

Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government. Since the beginning of the economic crisis, the Conservative government has claimed to be the best manager of the Canadian economy. However, this statement quickly comes into question when we look at last year's Roadmap: the review of a crown jewel, Atomic Energy of Canada; abandonment of disabled Nortel employees; and, the worst part, record debt for Canadians. Basically, the Conservative government is putting business before people by reducing corporate taxes and by further reducing the taxes for oil companies.

I was not the least bit surprised to read in yesterday's The Globe and Mail that the shareholders' fundamental right to vote is largely being ignored by the government. The article described issues that frequently arise when shareholders' votes are counted.

Madam Leader, the business world should not be exempt from the democratic ethical rules that we so staunchly defend. You can understand that this poses serious problems during important votes on the future of a company and has a significant impact on the stability of our economy. How does the Conservative government plan to ensure respect for the fundamental right of shareholders to vote, as set out in the Canada Corporations Act, in order to eliminate any possibility of irregularities during a vote?

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