Yes, there are some who agree that the Speech from the Throne is excellent. Incidentally, I thank the hon. member opposite for supporting the Prime Minister and the Speech from the Throne.
The fact is that the House expressed its opinion on that speech. We had a vote on the amendment to the amendment, and parliamentarians expressed strong support.
The motion will allow House committees to focus on new issues, rather than on legislation they have already reviewed. For example, the Standing Committee on Justice may want to examine the sensitive issue of marriage or conjugal relationship—whatever people may want to call it—involving persons of the same sex. We know that a court ruling was issued. We also know that it was appealed and that the Minister of Justice has sought the advice of his colleagues, who were duly elected by Canadians. This is an important issue.
This is of course a controversial issue. But the fact remains that such a controversial issue should be discussed by parliamentarians. This is what the Minister of Justice is asking us to do, instead of redoing the work that has already been done, and he is right about that.
Finally, my motion will not have any effect on the three bills that are awaiting third reading. The ministers responsible could decide to reintroduce these bills, to amend them or to not reintroduce them at all since, as I indicated earlier, we are starting all over in such cases.
Let us discuss for a moment the effect of the motion on committee business. The proposed motion will ensure that valuable work the committees began but did not complete can be continued in an expedited manner. It will be important for many committees. The environment and health committees had begun consultation on legislation that was before them when Parliament was prorogued. Under this motion they could resume their work, continue to consider the legislation and the evidence adduced before the committee at that time would be deemed to be before the committee at this time. That is very reasonable.
I know now that this could be part of the other component of the motion dealt with separately, which is okay, but the finance committee had already begun its annual prebudget consultation. If carried, the motion will ensure that the consultation that has taken place and the evidence thereto is adduced and forms part of the public record of the good work that the committee has done.
The public accounts committee, and this is request that came from the opposition, had been investigating the administration of certain contracts under the sponsorship programs. After the House prorogued, it demanded that the work which had been done not be stopped and that it continue. The motion that I propose does just that, that the evidence adduced before that committee continue for the purpose of reporting. Hon. members can see that I incorporated that in the motion after hearing through the media that that was a concern of an opposition member, the chairman of the committee, whom I congratulate for having raised this issue.
The Special Committee on Non-medical Use of Drugs spent a year gathering evidence on Canada's drug policy. I have to admit that this committee is the brainchild of one of my colleagues, the hon. member for Langley—Abbotsford, and I also thank him. We are reinstituting this committee under this motion along with the evidence that he has asked us to hear. That sounds pretty reasonable to me.
Just in case someone mistakenly thinks that I am creating a precedent here, I want to indicate to the members that in October 1999, when the second session of the 36th Parliament began, the House adopted a motion that was very similar to the one before the House today. That motion was adopted without debate three years ago, although some members expressed the opinion that they wanted to vote on it. There was a vote but there was no debate.
In March 1996 when the second session of the 35th Parliament began, the House adopted an almost identical motion again. In previous Parliaments similar motions have been adopted since 1991. Our party was not the government in 1991. Of course, the right hon. leader of the Progressive Conservative Party was a cabinet minister in the government that moved a virtually identical motion in 1991.
Further, Marleau and Montpetit says, at page 330 of our procedural manual, that following a prorogation this has been used in 1970, 1972, 1974 and 1986. That is in addition to the examples I raised of 1991, 1996 and 1999.
In 1977 and 1982 the House adopted amendments to the Standing Orders to carry over legislation to the next session. That particular measure lapsed eventually, but at one point we even had a measure right in our Standing Orders to do precisely this. The House unanimously agreed to Standing Order 86.1 which permitted us to do this for the private members' bills, as you very well know, Madam Speaker, because you are intimately familiar with the rules. The previous parliament adopted that exact measure for private members' bills under what we call Standing Order 81.
Surely the practice is longstanding. As I have said, we have done this for private members' bills and, of course, public bills. The procedure we propose in the motion is almost identical to the one that exists for private members' hour.
Therefore what is proposed is not unusual. I know if the hon. member across the tries very hard to think about modernization for just a moment, he will find that this is a very modern thing.
If we want to speak about modernization, we had a unanimous modernization committee report two years ago setting out 26 different amendments. I could read from it. I just happen to have a copy of it in front of me. It sets out all the modernization we have had and the ones which I want to propose to the House in the future. Let us see who is in favour of things more modern and let us see who the Jurassic ones are around here.
The procedure we are discussing today would simply allow ministers and committees to continue their work, the work left unfinished at the time of prorogation. The motion is fair, it is reasonable and it has been the practice of the House for over 30 years. It is identical, to the procedure for private members' hour. Furthermore, it is consistent with the rule changes proposed for adoption in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
The motion promotes the interest of the House. It promotes the interest of the opposition in many cases. It promotes the interest of members of Parliament and, of course, the Canadian public by not wasting the time of parliamentarians and taxpayer money. The motion would allow the House and its committees to move forward on important issues of the day, such as Kyoto and everything else, instead of stalling on things that have already been decided.
For this reason, I ask for the support of all hon. members. Perhaps today, if we can come to an agreement, we will not even have to vote on it. Let us come to an agreement. Let us support the measure, which has been supported many times by all parties in the House, in this procedural motion. Let us do so in a way that protects the interest of taxpayers, the House of Commons, and let us concentrate on the issues facing Canadians today.