This is relevant. Standing Order 117 states:
The Chair of a standing, special or legislative committee shall maintain order in the committee, deciding all questions of order subject to an appeal to the committee; but disorder in a committee can only be censured by the House, on receiving a report thereof.
At the very beginning of the committee meeting, the member who was chairing instructed that the mic be shut off on another member who was speaking, which again goes against the freedom of speech that we enjoy here as members.
We want to make sure that we address all the issues that were raised as a question of privilege. I am just saying that his freedom of rights and privileges were not impugned in any way, shape or form, versus the privilege that he has himself used in a very authoritarian manner as committee chair in impugning the rights, privileges and freedom of speech of members of that committee.
Moving on, if we look at my second point in reference to Standing Order 117, the chair of the committee does not have the power to censure disorder or decide questions of privilege. Should a member wish to raise a question of privilege in a committee, or should some event occur in committee which appears to be a breach of privilege or contempt, the chair of the committee will recognize the member and hear the question, or in the case of some incidents, suggest the committee deal with the matter. The chair, however, has no authority to rule on whether a breach of privilege or contempt has occurred.
The member for Peace River never had his rights honoured at committee because of the overbearing way the meeting was chaired by the member for Mississauga South.
We have censorship, intimidation of the witness, and this whole issue of contempt. We should be reversing the role here, because I personally feel that his role as chair of the committee has had such an authoritarian measure that it has affected the rights and privileges of members of that committee to do their jobs properly. I will move on to those points.
The member for Mississauga South is overstepping the powers of the committee over the House itself. If we look at what the House of Commons decides versus what the committee decides, first of all--