Mr. Speaker, I would draw the your attention to Standing Order 1.1, which reads:
The Speaker may alter the application of any Standing or special Order or practice of the House in order to permit the full participation in the proceedings of the House of any Member with a disability.
First, the items the member opposite talked about are here so members can utilize the washroom when they need to do so. They are human beings.
Second, I am looking for a ruling specifically on the matter that is before us tonight.
We are engaging in a series of votes that could extend beyond 24 hours and potentially as long as 36 hours. Many members of the House, the pages and the House officers are expected to be here, sleep deprived, without regard to their personal hygiene. There are all sorts of serious mental and physical issues that come from deprivation of sleep lasting a long period of time.
I assert that this is an infringement on the privilege of members who serve in this place. Many members will not be able to participate in the proceedings of the House because of their physical condition.
As the former executive director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, I note that when people extend the hours they are not sleeping to beyond 48 hours, as many people start their day at 7:30 in the morning, there is an enormous stress put on their heart and it reduces their white blood cell count. That makes them incredibly susceptible to illness.
On the basis of health and safety, which I am charged with in my position as the whip, and on behalf of all members, House officers and the pages, I ask for only one thing, which is not that the votes do not take place, but that we have a cessation in votes between 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. This would ensure that members of the House, for their own health and safety and in order for them to be present in this place, would be able to do their work without the encumbrance of not having sleep. To deny this to members is to deny the privilege members have to be in this place, when many do not have the physical capacity to be in this place for a long time.
On the point of the member opposite, if you have a better system, Mr. Speaker, for people to go to the washroom, by all means please let me know.