Mr. Speaker, I think it is important that we are fairly clear on this issue. I have attempted to do that in my questions and in my statement in regard to the consequence of the action. As it has been pointed out by my colleague, the Canada Elections Act is very clear: one cannot sit.
In this situation, there has been a conviction dated October 31. The law says the member should not sit. Now, we disagree with the motion that is being put forward, because our preference is that we should be voting on the member being expelled.
The question I have for the member is this. Does he believe it is in the best interest of the people who live Peterborough that they would not have representation inside this House because a member has been suspended and we do not know how long that suspension might be? If it is left up to the government, it could be years until the next election.
The issue is this. Why would we suspend when the Canada Elections Act says we should expel?