I address myself directly to the hon. member to let him know that I too feel frustrated in this House.
Today I have stood up at least a dozen times to call for order, so that we could hear ourselves in this House, and hear the questions as well as the answers.
Every five or six weeks we have a day like today. I wish that all days could be like Monday, when we had 47 questions and 47 answers in this House. That was a good day for Parliament. Tuesday, there were 42 of each.
I would like to be able to say that it is all on one side or the other, all one party or the other. However, the hon. members were here for Oral Question Period. The last time, I called upon you all to take a look at yourselves. Can one or the other side say that they are not to blame? If so, good for you, and thank you.
If not, we keep coming back every six weeks or so because we cannot get our questions in at the end of question period. Then we stand up, stalk out and some yell “partisan” and “taking up time”.
I suggest to you that unless you want me, as your Speaker, and I will happy to do it, every time someone raises his or her voice, that I stop them and tell them to leave, which I will do, but I do not want a question period like that. Do you?
The House leaders from the different parties are all ready to get in. Every six or seven weeks we have a day like this. It has not been a good day. Again, I come back and appeal to you that if you want a House that is just going to have me here, kicking people out on both sides, that can be done.
I appeal to you, as parliamentarians of Canada, to take your responsibilities too. If it is such a joke and so funny, go laugh in the lobbies. Do not take up our time here, we who want to do the work of our country, and surely do not attack your Speaker every six weeks because we, collectively, have a bad day. I do not think that is fair.
I have had my say.