Excuse me, Mr. Chairman.
And it is the same thing for Mr. Guimond; you could have said debate would be suspended while you looked into these matters. Questions of privilege are not often raised, Mr. Chairman. In my case, this is the second time in six years that I have raised a point of privilege. As for Mr. Laforest or Mr. Guimond, I am not aware whether they have raised a question of privilege previously or not.
Mr. Laforest and Mr. Guimond are signalling to me that they have not. This is not an insignificant matter; this is not something that can be brushed aside in that manner. It is a question of enormous importance, and if Mr. Allison and Mr. Keddy raise points of privilege, it will be equally important to consider them, because these are substantial issues. For all these reasons—and you were in the room when Mr. Laforest and myself asked to be given the Clerk's opinion—and after all the questions that have been raised, I think you have things to consider now. This truly is a question of privilege.
Mr. Chairman, I am therefore asking that you rule on these three questions of privilege. If you refuse, in addition to the fact that you arrived late, we will find ourselves in a situation where everything that follows is not legitimate. Having said that, we will try to start the clause-by-clause consideration, but that does not change the fact that what happened today is not legitimate and that this will not stop here. It is obvious that it cannot stop here. For that reason, and because of the issues that have been raised, the entire process surrounding Bill C-2 is now tainted and, as you know, Mr. Chairman, the public takes a great interest in this. There have been a lot of public meetings about this and it was standing room only; so, there is no doubt that the public will also want to have its say on these matters. We are calling on you, Mr. Chairman, just as Mr. Laforest and Mr. Guimond have done. This is truly a question of privilege and I hope that you will take it seriously.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.