As was stated by the hon. member for Winnipeg—Transcona, we are indeed talking about a broader problem. It is a problem here with parliament where we were elected to serve.
What we have with the point of privilege that was brought up by the hon. member for Langley—Abbotsford, at least at this point from what I can hear, is that the hon. member is saying that someone from the government side leaked a document. He does not name a member but he seems to indicate that one of the members may have done it.
The member that he seems to have indicated, the member for Broadview—Greenwood, stood on his feet and as an hon. member he told us here in this House that he and no one else that he knows of has leaked this particular document.
We are right about one thing, that we do have the rules in the House and ultimately the rules are going to be kept by us, the members of this House. I do not know how many times that I as the Speaker have to appeal to all members. These rules are made for all of us.
At this point, from what I have heard, we have a dispute on the facts of what happened. I find that there is no prima facie case for a point of privilege.
However, how many times do we all stand in this House and bemoan this fact? The government House leader says that he is absolutely opposed to anything like this. We have the Leader of the Opposition who is absolutely opposed. The spokesperson for the New Democratic Party is opposed. We all agree and yet these things still go on.
Unless we the parliamentarians together make a decision as to how we are going to conduct ourselves in here, we must not just deteriorate into the chaos of pointing fingers at one another.
I find that there is no prima facie case for a point of privilege.
I appeal to all my colleagues that unless we want to make this place work, it will not work. I appeal to your sense of honour that this type of thing should not happen. The best place for these announcements is here in our House where we are. This is where they should be made.
I encourage all of you, whoever the person is who leaked this, if they are indeed in this House or close to the people in this House, in the name of respect for this institution, that this cease forthwith.