Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order with regard to the motion you have just read standing in the name of the Minister of Finance and seconded by Mr. Herb Gray, the former member of parliament for Windsor West.
Marleau and Montpetit, at page 204 under resignation of a member, states:
Once a member has tendered his or her resignation, the seat is deemed to be vacated and the individual ceases to be a member of parliament.
Yesterday morning prior to orders of the day the Speaker declared the seat of Windsor West to be vacant. I quote from page 8297 of Hansard :
It is my duty to inform the House that vacancies have occurred in the representation: namely, ...Mr. Herb Gray, member for the electoral district of Windsor West, by resignation.
It further states:
Pursuant to subsection 25(1)(b) of the Parliament of Canada Act, I have addressed on Monday, January 14, 2002, and on Friday, January 25, 2002, my warrants to the Chief Electoral Officer for the issue of writs for the election of members to fill these vacancies.
Therefore Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that we can properly vote on a motion that has been seconded by someone who is not a member of the House. I therefore ask that you rule the motion out of order.