Mr. Speaker, at the outset of my brief comments I would like to ask a question of the people of Canada who are watching this debate today. The governing party, the Liberal Party of Canada, would like this issue to go away because it feels it is frivolous and unnecessary. I ask the people who are watching to be the judge and decide who is calmly putting forward the motion, who is trying to speak to it in a calm and collective manner, and who is putting forward some ridiculous arguments.
The hon. member remarked that even the British parliament did not allow members of Parliament in the mother of parliaments to have small flags on their desks. That is the best excuse he can come up with. I remind the hon. member, in case he has missed the point, that to my knowledge the British parliament is not in an ongoing crisis mode about national unity, which we seem to be in this Chamber. People are getting sick of it.
The member said that this was a procedural game. The father of all procedural games is condemning the official opposition for what he views as a procedural game. He then has the audacity to call this a cheap political trick. Is it a cheap political trick to want to display, at our own discretion, a small Canadian flag to show our patriotism when our country is in its hour of need? Is that a cheap political trick to the hon. member across the way?
The hon. member who spoke earlier talked about a radio station in Hamilton. He said there were 36 calls, 50 calls, 60 calls. Surely the hon. House leader of the government knows how many faxes, phone calls, letters and e-mails came in to the government, the ministers, members of Parliament or the Speaker's office over the last couple of weeks. I would ask him to reveal today just how much feedback is necessary from the Canadian people before we decide to change things.
The member says that we have to uphold the Speaker's ruling. The Speaker invited us yesterday to bring forward change if we desired reform. If not us then who when it comes to making changes in here? If not now then when?