Thank you for your comments, Mr. Therrien.
You will have observed that everyone was listening closely to you. Committee members are sensitive to your comments, as am I. However, as I said, I have made a decision, and nothing in what you have said has changed my mind.
Bill C-14 seeks to amend section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867 to provide that a province will not have fewer members assigned to it than were assigned during the 43rd Parliament. Amendment BQ‑1 would provide that the total number of members for the province of Quebec may not be less than 25% of the total number of members in the House of Commons.
At page 770 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, we read:
An amendment to a bill that was referred to a committee after second reading is out of order if it is beyond the scope and principle of the bill.
The chair is of the opinion, with respect to Bill C‑14, that assigning 25% of the seats in the House of Commons to Quebec might necessitate a reduction in the number of seats for another province or provinces, and this is contrary to the principles of the bill.
Accordingly, I declare this amendment to be out of order.