Mr. Speaker, some days ago, I drew attention to the fact that Standing Order 31 seemed to have become a source of increasing disharmony in the House, encouraging a lack of decorum. I note that under Standing Order 31, although at the time you may recall the discussion we had, the hon. House leader said that in his view there were no rules about content or appropriateness of the text, it does say in Standing Order 31 that if, in your opinion, Mr. Speaker, the remarks are “improper use is made of this Standing Order”. Clearly, there is a threshold for performance. The guidance comes from the comments from former Speaker Sauvé.
Mr. Speaker, you mentioned at the time that you might give us a ruling. I hate to ask if it is forthcoming, but the S. O. 31 period is becoming increasingly rancorous and the problem is that we are failing to abide by Speaker Sauvé's guidance. With respect, I wanted to make this submission.