Mr. Speaker, first, to quote the hon. House leader, he knows this is not a point of order. It is a nice try but it is not a point of order and he knows that full well.
It is also cutting into debate time. I hope at the end of this discussion that this time could be added on to the allotted day because farmers want this issue debated, they want it debated in full and they want it debated today.
I point out in Marleau and Montpetit on page 724, under the consideration of opposition motion, it says:
Members in opposition to the government may propose motions for debate on any matter falling within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada, as well as on committee reports concerning Estimates.
We could have a debate today about the estimates and how the government has failed to contribute the necessary funds to deal with the farm crisis. Instead we chose a motion which is obviously in order and has been tabled with the required notice ahead of time.
It is also important to note that our motion does not direct the government to a course of action. It does not order the government to do a certain thing. It does not compel it to a certain course of action. However, it does call on the government, as are farmers across the country, to a course of action that will direct the government to help out with the farm crisis. So it is a plea.
It calls on the government to address that concern. I hope it will enter into the debate in such a way that by the end of it the government will understand the severity of the crisis and will vote in favour of the motion.
Under Beauchesne's parliamentary rules, page 256, paragraph 923, with respect to opposition day motions, states:
The Opposition prerogative is very broad in the use of the allotted day and ought not to be interfered with—
The government House leader, while he has an interesting discussion, should perhaps change his late night reading to something more entertaining than the standing orders because he knows full well his is not a point of order.
I did not have notice of this. It would have been interesting to go back to see what the government House leader had in some of his opposition day motions when he sat on this side of the House. He called on the government of the day to spend money freely, widely, indiscriminately and at will, especially his. I am just pointing out again that is not what this is. It is very specific to a particular crisis and is calling on the government.
For clarity, there are two parts to this motion. The second part has to do with the confidence measure. Just to be clear, that is what we call a free vote. That means the government will not rise or fall on this debate. It is a free vote. We can have a debate on this and the House can even decide in favour of this motion without the government falling.