This is after the first round. Just listen, and put yourselves in my shoes for a second.
On the following rounds of questioning, five minutes per party beginning with the Liberals, the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois, the Conservatives, the Liberals, the Conservatives and the Liberals; and in a third round the order would be the same as in the second round, with the NDP being able to ask questions at the end of the round....
You know, I feel like a little kid who was too small to play on the basketball team: “Well, you know, for short players or if someone is injured, we'll get the NDP to play.” That's unacceptable. No offence to you, Madame Hinton, but you say “Maybe the NDP will ask a question at the end of the third round, if there is time. Thank you very much for getting elected and for showing up.”
Think about that, Mr. Thibault. You can't do that. Very few committees in this House--if the clerk researches--have that type of format. It's just unacceptable.
You can't ignore the NDP in the second round. You can change it to go Liberals, Conservatives, Bloc, Conservatives, NDP, Conservatives. If you want to do that, I find that acceptable. But to ignore us in the second round and then say in the third round, “Well, ladies and gentlemen, here you are”, that's just unacceptable.