Mr. Speaker, I do recall back in May 2006 when the Speaker outlined the rules with regard to making argument with regard to royal recommendations. I believe the Speaker even referred to situations where, just prior to a vote being taken at third reading, someone may rise and make argument and the final determination would not be made until the end of final debate at third reading.
I believe there could be some difficulty in future cases. As the Speaker knows, when a private member's bill has finished its committee stage, it comes to the House at report stage and third reading, a hybrid two hour period.
Mr. Speaker, you are also aware that members have the right to move a recommittal motion to committee to remedy a problem within the bill, and that can only be made at third reading. However, if we start at report stage and there are report stage motions, we may find that the entire two hour debate period is taken up at report stage. There is no opportunity for a member to remedy the bill by recommitting it to committee should a subsequent decision come that a royal recommendation is required just prior to the end of the second hour.
I raise this, Mr. Speaker, because I think the Table has also recognized that the Standing Orders may not have contemplated committee stage amendments on private member's bills or in fact report stage motions being raised and that this could be problematic down the road. The matter likely should be reviewed again by procedure and House affairs or another designated review by the Chair to ensure that these kinds of things do not get us into a difficulty that ultimately would result in a member's rights being taken away simply by the failure of the Standing Orders to take into account those unusual circumstances.