Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of reference to this incident.
There has been reference to you and your role as the Chair. Perhaps the most important word that has been used here is respect. I would also suggest an important word is impartiality. When you don the cloak of the Speaker, of the Chair, you also don the impartial role of presiding over this House for all members, regardless of partisan politics.
Mr. Speaker, the language that was used in the question that you ruled in my opinion rightly out of order had in its preamble reference to you particularized as a prominent Liberal MP. I would suggest that you rightly ruled this out of order.
As a point of reference in your deliberations over this government point of privilege, I refer you to section 404 of Beauchesne, sixth edition, where it states at page 119:
No questions of any sort may be addressed to the Speaker. If information relating to matters under the jurisdiction of the Speaker is required, it must be obtained privately.
There were options available. Had the Reform Party wished to address this matter, it could have raised it on a point of privilege or a point of order. However they chose not to do so. They did so in an improper way which you ruled out of order.
It is also with some regret that I make reference to the fact that we are here again in this situation, mired down in a debate that could have been avoided.
Yesterday, you will recall, there was a point of privilege brought forward by the Conservative Party. At that time the government remained silent on this point.
There has been a very frightening and disturbing trend in that there is a disintegration in the rules of Parliament, something I am sure you are aware of and something I am sure that you have to be concerned about. We are seeing this happen quite readily over the last two weeks.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure, and I join with the voices of support in this House for you, that you will make a proper, deliberate, judicious ruling, to use your words, over these points of privilege and points of order.