Mr. Speaker, I share the concern of the member regarding smoking. On November 3 he asked whether the government would provide time for consideration of Bill S-13.
The leader of the government in the House replied that the appropriate forum for discussion of the future business of the House is the weekly meeting of all party House leaders. That answer stands.
The hon. member may, if he desires, ask his own House leader to raise the matter in the appropriate place. As the hon. member knows, the House has been developing in recent years increasingly effective procedures for the consideration of Private Members' Business and, if otherwise found in order, Bill S-13 would already benefit from certain advantages that our rules provide for private members' public bills emanating from the Senate.
As the hon. member also knows, however, there are certain fundamental procedural and constitutional considerations surrounding Bill S-13 that must be ruled on by the Speaker of the House of Commons, who is the only person authorized in our parliamentary system to rule on matters relating to the constitutional monopoly of the House of Commons to initiate fiscal legislation, and it is only fitting that we should await such a ruling to be made at an appropriate time.