Mr. Speaker, I have listened attentively to the arguments presented by my colleagues in the Reform Party and I must say that they seem to be right, at first glance. Language must indeed not be an obstacle to performing one's duties as a parliamentarian. Language must never constitute an obstacle.
That said, however, certain practices have been established in certain committees and, according to what I have been told, the Standing Committee on Health has adopted a procedure which requires motions to be tabled a minimum of 48 hours in advance, precisely in order for them to be presented to the committee members in both official languages.
My understanding of the facts is, therefore, the following: MPs who are on the membership of this committee are not in any way limited in their ability to perform their duties within the committee, because they may submit a motion in their language of choice. They merely need to do so in sufficient time to enable all members of the committee to also perform their duties within the committee in a fully informed manner, by having the motion to be examined available to them in their language.
Once again, I respectfully submit that my interpretation is that the rights of MPs on this committee have not in any way been restricted by the procedure adopted by the committee, since any MP on the committee may indeed present a motion in his or her language of choice, but must do so in sufficient time to enable all members of the committee to also perform their duties within the committee in a fully informed manner, by having the motion to be examined available to them in their language also.