Mr. Speaker, first, I want to apologize to the hon. member who has the floor. There has been a series of negotiations in the last few minutes and I will move three motions the leaders have agreed to, if some want to check what I am saying.
This is to set the process for tonight's debate in committee of the whole. I move:
That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice, when the House is in Committee of the Whole later today pursuant to Standing Order 81(4)(a), time be allotted to the recognized parties in the House in periods of 20 minutes as follows:
a) the first period to the Liberal Party; the second, to the Canadian Alliance; the third, to the Bloc Québécois; the fourth, [and this is a change from last year for reasons we will understand] to the Progressive Conservative Party; and the fifth, to the New Democratic Party; and subsequent periods shall be allocated to the parties in proportion to their representation in the House; and
b) within each 20-minute period, each party may allocate time to one or more of its members for speeches or for questions and answers, provided that, in the case of questions and answers, the minister's answer does not exceed the time taken by the question, and provided that, in the case of speeches, members of the party to which the period is allocated may speak one after the other.
That is exactly the formula that was used on June 4, 2002. Mr. Speaker, I have discussed this with various parties and I believe you will find unanimous consent for this motion.