Mr. Speaker, I am happy to address that point.
Yesterday I went to speak to the opposition House leader with the intention of discussing my concerns with the point of order that had been raised related to a mistake that had been made by the Deputy Speaker during Tuesday night's vote. I know that mistakes happen. The Deputy Speaker is new and I am sure he is going to do a very good job, but I thought it was inappropriate for the New Democrats to raise a point of order in which they relied on that mistake and somehow suggested it was the responsibility of the government. To do that was inappropriate. It put me in a very difficult position. I did not wish, in defending the government, to be critical of the Deputy Speaker, and I tried very delicately to dance around the point. Mr. Speaker, you ruled appropriately in the circumstances.
I acknowledge that I used an inappropriate word when I was discussing this matter with the opposition House leader. I should not have done that and I apologize for that. I would expect the Leader of the Opposition to do the same, and I hope that at this point we can move forward and get on with the important business that Canadians want us to do.