Madam Speaker, I do recognize this has been a challenging day for all of us. However, we have inherited the rules in this place and, quite honestly, those rules were based on the values of the members who originally debated and set forward those original Standing Orders, and which have been updated from time to time, after drawing consensus.
The government has chosen in its procedures today to draw upon something that has not been used in decades. There have been legitimate concerns raised by members of the Conservative caucus as to the applicability, especially considering the serious nature of the bill that is before us. It is very important to point out that there will be disagreements on what exactly the rules say and the values that we hold here today, not 30 years ago and certainly not when the country was first formed in 1867.
What I am simply saying is that the government member, the member for Kingston and the Islands, who spoke earlier, to suddenly say that the rules are well known, well, they are. However, if we use an archaic and often not used form, especially at report stage of a bill, when members have issues and have put forward, in good faith, proper amendments to the bill, to suddenly wash that all aside and decide that the rules have been decided, I would suggest the member should actually do it the proper way. At the beginning of every session, we are all allowed to come forward and present suggestions on the Standing Orders. That member could add some clarity to the Standing Orders as to the applicability of this at report stage. That is where we are.
The member also mentioned voices outside the chamber. The voices we should all be concerned about are those of our constituents. We are raising them here. I do think there is a challenge when we have members who are attributing voices outside of the chamber, because this chamber is not like the Centre Block House of Commons. Oftentimes we will have people walking through who inadvertently, and I am sure the Speaker has heard this many times, being adjacent, may sometimes be loud. We may attribute that to someone or some party, but we have no actual knowledge of who it is.
Madam Speaker, I would ask that before you give your ruling, please do take into account that the charges of the previous speaker, the member for Kingston and the Islands, to suddenly attribute sounds from outside of this direct space in this particular chamber is erroneous. The only voices we should be considering are the voices of our constituents, and not the physical sounds that come into this arrangement, in this chamber, as it is different from what it would be in Centre Block, where the chamber is basically kept separate from the voices outside.
I am going to quickly repeat two things for the member. This place has long abided by the rules that we put together. They do not come together easily. They are done through a common discussion on our values and debates to come up with specific rules. From time to time, those particular rules are revisited by parliamentarians, usually after every election. They are improved so that everyone understands the rules.
That is why we are asking for this ruling. It is so incredibly important for us to know whether the government can arbitrarily just mark down a certain number of hours and then use the tool of time allocation to disregard the legitimate and properly processed amendments that were presented to this House on a bill that touches upon so many things. It touches upon net neutrality, touches upon section 2(b) of the charter, something that the Prime Minister, his ministers and his caucus have said they want to always adhere to.
I will give credit to the NDP for voting against moving to Orders of the Day. I hope that we can all stand up and push back to make sure the government does not feel that even when it is in a minority position, it can simply run roughshod over members' rights, particularly that right to put forward amendments and to be heard.
I hope I have made a couple of important points. I hope that they will be heard, not just by you, but by members opposite, including the member for Kingston and the Islands.
At the same token, this is a great country, not just because of what we have accomplished, but because of the way we try to accomplish things, which is by listening and accommodating. Now, more than ever, we need to listen to voices that are different from our own. We need to learn to garner consensus and not just run roughshod over legitimate concerns as they are presented.
I do know today has been a challenging day. I do respect the role the Speaker has and that you have tried to be as fair as possible. I hope we end up after today in a better place. I also hope that the government perhaps takes some time over the weekend and reconsiders the way it is presenting its motions to this place. They are doing so with very little respect for the members present, but most importantly, with little respect for the members previous, who put together these rules so we can keep this country strong and together, even in disagreement.
We have those common ties, those values and those rules in our standing orders, which we all respect, so we do not end up with just a product. We end up with a process that makes us proud to be Canadians.