Mr. Speaker, the chairman of our caucus is speaking. He often tells me that if I do not like what he is doing as chairman, then I could do it. However, I could not. My personality does not lead me to be a referee.
Mr. Speaker, you are defenceless. In this place our weapons are our words. Sometimes we go off the mark a bit, using words that might be unparliamentary or taking a jab here and there. It is a tough job in which we want perfection, but we will never have perfection.
There have been some debates which have taken place in the House over the years which have led to difficult circumstances for Speakers. During the pipeline debate of 1956 a motion like this was before the House and it had a disastrous effect on parliamentary decorum and the role of the Speaker.
I was here during the omnibus bill which set up the national energy program. The bells rang for 16 days. The Speaker was put in a very precarious position. At that time there was frustration on this side of the House, so the Conservative Party instituted that weapon and the bells rang for 16 days before the issue was finally resolved.
That incident happened because of frustration on this side of the House. The members were using the rules, as they saw them, to send a message home. We have seen it in the House on a couple of occasions. During the Nisga'a treaty debate the Reform Party moved amendments which required us to vote around the clock for 48 hours, but the bill still passed.
Obviously the Bloc did that this week with Bill C-20. There were some 400 amendments and we voted around the clock for 36 hours.
They are using tools which are available to them, but at the end of the day they are extremely frustrated by the outcome. However, it is wrong of them to take it out on the Speaker. They are using the rules that exist. If there is any fault, I suggest that it has to do with too much being on the agenda, forcing human error. There is too much pressure being placed upon the legislative ability of the clerks, who work through the procedure and have to deal with what is before the House.
Human error will never be eliminated in this business. We are all mortals. We are all human.
Mr. Speaker, we support you. I think this House supports you. This is only on the agenda today because of frustration, nothing more and nothing less. We want you there. At the end of the day, I think you will find that you have a clear majority in the House.