The protocol is when it is a report stage motion it is the responsibility of the Chair, where there is a recognition between parties that they are working toward resolving a bill, not to stand in the way of that. The Chair's responsibility is to make sure that what is being done is being done in a parliamentary sound fashion. That is why we are taking the time now to make sure that what is being done is being done appropriately.
I think behind the hon. member's question is the fact that generally if an amendment to a motion is moved, it is done at the end of an intervention and that terminates the intervention. In this case I recognized the hon. parliamentary secretary on a different motion within the context of that group recognizing that there had been negotiations between opposition and government members on this particular bill.
Again it was not my intention to involve the Chair in the debate, but it is the responsibility of the Chair to ensure that if opposition and government are working toward resolution of differences on a bill, to facilitate the ability of members to work together in common cause.
As members know, they cannot through amendment change a bill. All they can do is amend something that is already there; they cannot change the format or the intent. This is what is being considered by the clerks.
As this is the first time this has come before me, I will need the attention of all members present to make sure that it is done correctly.
The amendments as presented by the hon. parliamentary secretary are not in order because they are amendments to change the bill. What is before the House now are the amendments. For an amendment to be in order it must amend a motion. Therefore, the amendments as presented by the parliamentary secretary are not in order. This leaves the Chair in the position of saying that if there is the will for the motion to be amended it is not up to the Chair to negotiate this. It must be done by the parties.
The way we could do this is to continue with the debate on the motions that are before the House. If there is no further debate on motions before the House, with the indulgence and with the unanimous consent of the House, we could move to Group No. 3 and then come back again to Group No. 2. However, that would require the unanimous consent of the House. Other than that, we will stay on the motions in Group No. 2 as they are presented.