Mr. Speaker, I rise to debate the motion before us. I would like to refocus the debate on the motion itself. I shall divide my time with the member for Brossard—La Prairie. Motion No. 59, introduced by the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie, reads:
That this House resolve that it no longer has confidence in the Speaker, since it is of the opinion that the Speaker exhibited partiality in determining that the question of privilege raised by the hon. member for Rimouski—Mitis on Wednesday, March 1, 2000 was out of order and in rejecting the point of order raised by the hon. member for Beauharnois—Salaberry, to the detriment of the rights and privileges of all of the members of this House.
Thus two points are raised as a basis, in effect, for censuring the Speaker of our House. First, there is the censure language, that “this House resolve that it no longer has confidence in the Speaker—to the detriment of the rights and privileges of al members of this House”. To this I say clearly and unequivocally that you have continued to earn my trust and confidence, Mr. Speaker, although from time to time I might have differed with your interpretation and adjudication of the application of rules. Furthermore, I say with equal resolute confidence that my rights and privileges have not been adversely affected.
I support your ruling given on March 13 on the question of privilege raised on March 1 by the deputy House leader of the Bloc Quebecois. It is this ruling by you, Mr. Speaker, that is used as one of the bases for the censure motion before us. No doubt the Bloc Quebecois did not particularly like your ruling, but I submit that dislike of a ruling in itself does not establish that you were partial when you rendered that ruling.
To allow the censure motion to prosper on the basis of this point would in effect condone a successful challenge to your ruling, an approach which is clearly forbidden and explicitly prohibited in the standing orders of our House. I will read Standing Order 10 at page six:
The Speaker shall preserve order and decorum, and shall decide questions of order. In deciding a point of order or practice, the Speaker shall state the Standing Order or other authority applicable to the case. No debate shall be permitted on any such decision, and no such decision shall be subject to an appeal to the House.
To allow the censure motion on this basis would also in effect say that the member for Rimouski—Mitis who initially raised the question of privilege has an impartiality and a level of wisdom superior to the Speaker.
I would submit that you continue to display superior competence and wisdom. I also believe that you have been impartial at all times. For these reasons I respectfully submit to the House that the censure motion before us loses ground and should be defeated.
I say to my colleagues, through you, Mr. Speaker, that this approach, as unintended as it might be, on the part of the Bloc Quebecois by way of this motion, although it might be an imaginative tool to bring back debate on the clarity act bill, which received third reading and passage in the House yesterday and now goes to the Senate, and although it might be a tool to bring attention to other issues, allows challenge to the ruling of the Chair, the servant of the House. It is clear that to allow that would be in clear breach of our standing orders in the Chamber.
The rule is there and is intended to maintain decorum in and the dignity of the House. Without it there would be chaos. For the same foregoing reasons the House should reject the second point of the censure motion in rejecting the point of order raised by the hon. member for Beauharnois—Salaberry. Indeed, the sponsor of the censure motion said in opening debate that we must investigate and revisit that ruling. That is a clear indication of trying to challenge the ruling itself.
Let me state for the record of this debate, Mr. Speaker, the essence of your ruling on the question as found at page 4376 of Hansard for March 13:
In this case, I note there is no mention of any breach of confidentiality whereby the text of proposed motions of the hon. member or her party has been made known to persons working outside the field of legislative support operations or to other members. Confidential information proprietary to the Bloc Quebecois and several of its members remained completely and absolutely confidential. Consequently, I am unable to find that this constitutes a prima facie question of privilege or a contempt of the House.
Your particular ruling was sound and impartial. It merits the support, confidence and trust of all members of the House in the best traditions of our parliamentary democracy. In compliance with Standing Order 10, a ruling of the Speaker should not be subject to appeal to the House.
Let me now address the argument raised by the House leader of the Reform Party in debating the censure motion before us. He said that the censure motion is not about the question of confidentiality, nor about the performance of the clerks and legislative counsel of the House. The Reform Party House leader went on to claim that the censure motion is a result of the government misreading the Bloc on Bill C-20.
The whip of the Reform Party also claimed that there should be a free vote as we judge our confidence in the Speaker based on the Chair's performance during your tenure, Mr. Speaker, since your election by the House a few years ago.
Let me just caution colleagues that the censure motion before us is very specific as to the two considerations which we have to vote on. They are the Speaker's ruling to which I alluded earlier as well as the timeframe during which the question of privilege and the point of order for which the aforementioned ruling was rendered, which was on or around March 1, 2000.
To extend the timeframe beyond the substantive scope contained in the censure motion as a basis for our voting would be ill advised to say the least. It would be reckless at its worst in the tradition of parliamentary democracy. It would be vindictive. It would be a mockery of our human conscience.
Let me end with a quote from The Procedure of the House of Commons by Josef Redlich. On the question of a vote of censure upon the Speaker it states:
It need hardly be said that such an event is abnormal and happens but rarely, and that such a motion would only be acceded to by the House if the circumstances fully justified it...it would appear seriously to undermine the exalted position and dignity of the Speaker if, in addition to his application of the rules being open to challenge upon special and important occasions, it was competent for every member to call in question the Speaker's authority whenever he chose, and if he was liable at all times to be called upon to defend the correctness of his decisions.
I appeal to my colleagues. Let us exercise due diligence and care. Let us vote based on reason, based on our established rules and order and based on wisdom. Let us summon the reason of goodwill in us. It has been with the gift of the Canadian electorate that we are here in the House. Let us use that gift wisely in a way that present and future generations can be proud of our place in this hallowed Chamber. Mr. Speaker, I continue to have confidence in you.