Mr. Speaker, that standing order, one of the rules we work under here in the House, is exactly as the member described. There is a requirement for the government to respond but often that response is “We are going to take a little more time to look at it” or “We appreciate the work you have done thank you very much, we are sure looking this over”. I would bet they are just sweating late at night over there in the Langevin building going over it clause by clause.
It reminds me of Standing Order 108, another rule that committee members can use to bring subject matters to the committee. We gather signatures from the opposition parties. We get a subject matter or a witness to come before the committee. That is supposed to give us some influence on this side but often what happens is the government will say “Thank you for that request. We know you have the right to do it”, but guess what? The committee goes in camera.
When a committee goes in camera that means not only are there no television cameras, there are no witnesses, there is no Hansard , there is nothing. At that time the committee makes a decision on whether we get to hear our witness or not, and guess what? There is always a majority of government members on a committee and guess what? They always turn it down. I should not say always, but 90% of the time.
Standing Orders 108 and 109 are examples of a government that says it wants to keep us busy, but when it comes to the nub of the issue or if we get too close to home and it looks like we are about to strike a political point, there is a dust gathering area that is sifting down as we speak on a layer of books as high as an elephant's eye.