Hon. members collectively have empowered me as the Speaker to make decisions on what will be in order or out of order in question period. I take this responsibility very seriously.
The hon. member has asked if he can rise on a point of clarification. If an hon. member wants clarification I will be very happy to speak with him or her in my chambers. I find that I am being asked more and more for clarification of decisions that I have taken in the course of question period. I hope that most members feel that the decisions I take are taken in the best interests of the House.
With regard to the points that come up I beg that you give me latitude so I can carry out question period in a judicious manner. Of course a point of clarification can be raised but many times when a point is raised I am led into hypothetical cases which could be misinterpreted.
Therefore, if members will agree, I would prefer that if you have points to be clarified about a particular decision I will be happy to speak to you in my chambers about it. When we keep having these discussions come up time and time again I feel that what is being questioned, not necessarily in this case but in some instances, is the decision itself. I hope you would give me enough room to make those decisions.