Order, please. Hon. members making statements will want to bear in mind the guidelines respecting Standing Order 31 statements. I would hope that this would serve as a reminder. I think some of the statements came close to the line today. I will put in member's minds House of Commons Procedure and Practice at page 363, where it states:
--when the procedure for “Statements by Members” was first put in place, Speaker Sauvé stated that
Members may speak on any matter of concern and not necessarily on urgent matters only;
Personal attacks are not permitted;
Congratulatory messages, recitations of poetry and frivolous matters are out of order.
Then it adds:
These guidelines are still in place today, although Speakers tend to turn a blind eye to the latter restriction.
I stress that it is only the latter restriction to which we will turn a blind eye. Speakers do want to caution members against using Standing Order 31 statements for personal attacks.
We will turn to oral questions.