Mr. Speaker, I appreciate your ruling on this issue. I have a comment and perhaps a question to put to the House. The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs has been advised that our party would like this issue raised and dealt with in a review of the standing orders. That is as it should be. We will deal with it there and hopefully we can come to you with some proposals to solve this question.
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the other issue, you have ruled that the government needs some leeway in the 45 day period that the government has to respond to written questions. It has been a traditional ruling of the Chair that the government needs some leeway since 45 days sometimes is not long enough. If that is the case, if there is some leeway on that side, what is the member who finds himself blocked from asking another question to do? If the member is allowed four questions on the order paper and they stretch off into the distance at an unknown date, then he is blocked from asking future questions.
There is leeway on the government side with the 45 days. Mr. Speaker, as you have said and as other Speakers have ruled, there needs to be some leeway, but there is no leeway on the member's side. The member has four questions and four it shall remain. His conundrum is that he needs answers to those questions in order to do his work as a parliamentarian. He needs the fodder to answer questions, to critique the government and to put forward his own policy initiatives, but he is stopped at four questions because that is an absolute number.
Would there be some consideration when the 45 days is extended for the government side that the member would be allowed to submit another question? If it is good for the goose is it also good for the gander?