The Chair has carefully considered the matter. I have had recourse to the Annotated Standing Orders of the House of Commons where, if hon. members looked, they would see it is stated quite clearly that in instances where the parliamentary secretary makes the first speech on behalf of the government, he or she has unlimited time, as well as the opposition member replying immediately thereafter.
I am aware that the hon. member is not the parliamentary secretary. The difficulty with the position advanced by the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot is that the member speaking immediately after the minister would be the hon. member for Vaughan—King—Aurora. He would therefore have unlimited time on that guise if he were not the first person speaking for the government.
The hon. member would find himself in the position where the hon. member for Vaughan—King—Aurora would have unlimited time because he is the first person speaking in reply to the government, and then the opposition would not get a similar opportunity. In the opinion of the Chair, this is not the result that should obtain in this case. In the opinion of the Chair, there should be two speeches of unlimited time.
Accordingly, I feel that it is appropriate that even though the member is not the parliamentary secretary, it has been the practice consistently in the use of this rule that when a government motion is moved, the first person speaking has unlimited time, as does the second.
The hon. member for Vaughan—King—Aurora is the first person speaking on the motion. Accordingly, I believe the ruling that he has unlimited time is correct in the circumstances. I propose, since we have already exceeded the 20 minutes by some measure, to allow him to complete his speech.