Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments, though I do not necessarily agree with them. We will have to agree to disagree.
I would ask the member if she is familiar with any aspect of the Canada Elections Act that would contradict the statement that upon conviction, a member should have no right to sit in the House for five years or run in an election. It does not say anything about appeals, and so forth. One could ultimately argue this could be appealed for the next two to five years. We have already been at this now for how many years?
We passed a law that says “upon conviction”, which is what it is. October 31 is the date. One would think, and the expectation would be with the Canadian public as a whole, that the House would act upon what the law very clearly states.
I am not aware and I would ask her if she is aware of any part of the Canada Elections Act that would allow for or accommodate something beyond just a straight out conviction. I do not see anything that makes reference to appeals.