Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the Bloc on bringing forward this motion because it is time we started talking about the powers that we have but we do not use. Standing Order 110 says “a minister of the crown shall lay upon the table a certified copy of an order in council” and so on, but this of course is after the fact. We could quite easily put in “a proposed order in council” which would mean that we would deliberate it before the fact.
There is only one organization that can change the standing orders and that is this House. It is not the Prime Minister. It is not the government House leader. The House could put that word into Standing Order 110 to make it a “proposed order in council” rather than after the fact.
We have that authority so why do we not just do it, courtesy of the support from the government members, and get the job done and get on with it? It would be simple. We do not have to wait for the member for LaSalle—Émard to say he will let us do this and this, but not the big stuff. No, he will reserve that for himself. We need to exercise our authority.