I would like to come back to Mr. Lauzon's comment. Perhaps the rule was brought in after the arrival of television in the House of Commons. Prior to that time, members could say that someone was there when in fact that was not the case, because Canadians had no way of knowing. That would be interesting to know, because the rule does not appear in the Standing Orders. I think that, with the advent of television cameras, some members would rise and point out that other members were not in the House. Before that, no one listened anyways.
On April 20th, 2010. See this statement in context.