After weeks of proceedings, of hearings, of listening to experts. It cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to find out that Mr. Jacob had the right to say what he said. He was totally exonerated from the false accusations made by Reformers.
Today, these same Reformers are outraged by what is going on in this House. What are they saying? What did they say? What did some Liberal members tell the media? They directly challenged the decision-making authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons. This is unacceptable.
Reformers would greatly benefit from reading Beauchesne's sixth edition. Let me read article 167, on pages 48:
The Speaker as Presiding Officer of the House of Commons
- The essential ingredient of the speakership is found in the status of the Speaker as a servant of the House. The Presiding Officer, while but a servant of the House, is entitled on all occasions to be treated with the greatest attention and respect by the individual Members because the office embodies the power, dignity, and honour of the House itself.
Some members made statements to the media; no one denies this. Yesterday, I was here during the debate and those who had been accused of making such comments to the media rose one after the other to repeat and expand on what they had said. They went even further. Look at their desks. Reformers still have Canadian flags on their desks. I understand Liberal members were given the word last night.