Mr. Speaker, I first wish to commend my colleague from Argenteuil-Papineau for his speech, even if it was interrupted twice by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport.
The hon. member for Hamilton West is a seasoned and experienced parliamentarian, who was elected in 1988, and he knows the procedure better than I do, because I am still a rookie. I was elected only in 1993.
I was very surprised to see the parliamentary secretary disturbing my colleague repeatedly during his speech, breaking his train of thought. I am astounded. Does this reflect the position of the government on this bill or on other bills? Is the government trying to deny opposition members their free and democratic right to express themselves in the House?
I am astounded. But I am also disappointed and surprised by the attitude of the hon. member for Hamilton West, because when I knew him, during the two and a half years that I was a member of the committee on transport, which he chaired, he was always respectful of differences. I wonder if he was told to give us a hard time.