Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the members who have contributed to the debate thus far, I am inclined and convinced that we would be making a grave mistake by not keeping things as simple as possible, moving forward with respect to precisely what is expected us as the House of Commons, which is expel the member for Peterborough.
In our view, the Canada Elections Act is perfectly clear. Section 502 states that someone convicted of an illegal practice under the act is prohibited from being elected or sitting as an MP for five years from the date of conviction.
Let me quote the Canada Elections Act, subsection 502(3), which states:
Consequences of illegal, corrupt practices
(3) Any person who is convicted of having committed an offence that is an illegal practice or a corrupt practice under this Act shall, in addition to any other punishment for that offence prescribed by this Act, in the case of an illegal practice, during the next five years or, in the case of a corrupt practice, during the next seven years, after the date of their being so convicted, not be entitled to
(a) be elected to or sit in the House of Commons; or
(b) hold any office in the nomination of the Crown or of the Governor in Council.
We need to be clear on that point. It does not say from the date that all legal avenues of appeal have been exhausted or some other complicated trigger.
I have listened to the government representatives, in particular the government House leader. I have heard the representations that have been put forward from the official opposition. As much as they want to justify whatever type of actions, such as incorporating the procedures and House affairs committee, it is nothing more than a justification for a position which they are attempting to take.
The Elections Act is very clear. The trigger for the prohibition of being an MP is from the date of conviction. That date of conviction was October 31. For the next five years, the member for Peterborough is currently prohibited from being an MP. The act could not be any clearer than that.
At this point, I would like to indicate, Mr. Speaker, that I will be splitting my time with the member for Labrador.
Let us remember that the Canada Elections Act was passed by Parliament. This is not some foreign body imposing its will on the House; it was the House of Commons that in fact passed the law. It is our law. If Parliament is to have any credibility whatsoever, then the least we are required to do is to follow the laws which we have passed.
It is not acceptable to simply give the member for Peterborough a pass because he is a member of Parliament and he has some friends inside the House. Opposition members have suggested that we study it for a while and see what happens. That is just not credible.
The act is clear. The issue is that the individual in question, the member for Peterborough, needs to and must be expelled. That is what we should be voting on today. The member for Peterborough has been convicted. Under the law, he has no right to sit in the House of Commons for five years. It is as simple as that. That is the law.
Our duty now is to uphold the law, and if we are going to uphold the law, that means there should be a vote to expel the member for Peterborough. If we fail to do this, if we choose to start ignoring the law, then the House puts at risk its own credibility.
We are suggesting that what has been brought forward in terms of the amendments and the motion itself have in fact fallen short of what the law requires us to do inside the House today. Therefore, I would ask if there is unanimous consent that the amendment as proposed be withdrawn and that the original motion be amended by deleting all the words after “immediately” and substituting the following: “Expel the member from the House in accordance with section 502(3) of the act”.
In essence, it would mean that with regard to the guilty verdict of October 31 against the member for Peterborough on four counts of violating the Canada Elections Act, the House would immediately expel the member from the House in accordance with section 502(3) of the act.
I would ask, Mr. Speaker, if you would canvass the House to see if we would have unanimous consent to do what it is that we have been charged to do according to the law.