Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to support the House leader of the Canadian Alliance regarding the question of privilege that he just raised. I will explain why.
As the Bloc Quebecois member pointed out, it is, among other things, because of the way the committee acted yesterday. I am referring mainly to government members.
I was present during the proceedings of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs when it was decided to develop a new rule to discuss whether all private members' bills and motions should be votable items in the House of Commons. I was among those who were not convinced that all motions and bills should be votable items. It is the Liberals themselves, including the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, who said that they should all be votable items.
Now, the Liberals are taking advantage of this opportunity—I was not at that committee yesterday, since I was with the Standing Committee on Finance—to show up with a majority and vote in a way that is contrary to the wishes of the committee.
What is odd here is that the government claims to want to modernize Parliament. However, it is only prepared to do so when it is in the mood. The Liberal member who put the question to the committee was pleased with the idea of voting to elect committee chairs. Now, she does not like the process and wants to discuss it with the modernization committee. I think that she has decided to listen to the Prime Minister.
As for the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, it is unacceptable for him to state that he was not aware of the actions of his assistants. Therefore, I recommend that the issue be referred back to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs for a new vote. This time, we must have a real vote, following a debate. The whole thing was done in an underhanded way, and this is a disgrace. It is unacceptable.
Mr. Speaker, I would like you to rule on this.