I have now heard from the hon. member the point that he wants to make. We have got to the meat and potatoes of the issue.
The difficulty we face in the House is that there has not been a message received from the Senate that has indicated that the bill has in fact been split. It is entirely possible that the Senate could plaster the bill back together again before it sends it back to this House. That is why I am concerned that the argument advanced by the hon. member at this point in time is purely academic. Interesting, yes, and delightful for the Chair to hear an argument on this sort of thing, but academic. I would not want to take up the time of the House arguing about something that might or might not happen. Until we have received a message, it seems to me it is inappropriate.
I know the hon. member said that we could send a message back, but there is no motion on notice to send any message to the Senate regarding this matter. It would have to be introduced on notice or with the unanimous consent of the House. In the absence of such consent, and in the absence of any proposal for a message, the Chair is unable to deal with the point of order that the hon. member is raising because it would be pointless for the Chair to make any ruling on this matter when no message has in fact been received, and where the House, itself, might choose to accept what the Senate does.
That is a matter for the House to decide. The Chair may have some input on the decision in saying how it will be decided, but it is a matter ultimately for the House to decide.
In the circumstances, I would suggest to the hon. member that we leave this matter for the time being until such time as we receive a message from the Senate. Having received notice from the hon. member that he intended to raise this matter, I have kept a close eye on the usual channels through which messages come to ensure that no message had in fact been received before the hon. member got to his feet. I am assured that one has not yet arrived.
I will also undertake to indicate to the hon. member at the earliest opportunity the arrival of such a message and, if necessary, come back to hear his arguments on this important issue. I do not discount the importance, but I think we need to wait until we have concrete evidence of the final result of the Senate's deliberations on this matter. I understand that the discussion is continuing in the other place, the last I heard, as we speak.
I invite the hon. member to refrain from further comment at this time until we have an actual message that indicates that something has happened about which he might want to raise an objection and which, of course, I would be happy to hear. I trust that will be satisfactory.