Madam Speaker, I appreciate that you have made the decision to listen to the points of order that members are raising, and it is important that we establish whether the motion is in order before we proceed to any question and comment period on it. The questions that I am raising about order are different from questions that other members have raised about whether this motion is in order. There are a number of different concerns with respect to the motion that I would ask you to take into consideration, as well.
I agree with points that have been made by my colleague, with respect to the fact that the Standing Orders prescribe a specific time period. The ruling that has been made with respect to the number of hours equivalent to a day in the House is very different from the hours for which committees can sit. However, there is a particular situation that I confront as the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. I have put forward amendments that deal with specific subject matter on the bill at committee, which is that foreign state-controlled channels seek access to Canada's broadcast system. Those channels have been broadcasting horrific human rights abuses, forced confessions and other human rights abuses. In response to concerns raised by constituents as well as stakeholders, I have undertaken to put forward amendments at the committee stage of the bill, and those amendments would deal with this important subject matter that relates to our broadcasting system.
It is the right of all members, not just members of the heritage committee, to move amendments at the committee stage with respect to a bill, and this is a right that is particularly important to me. Obviously, I am not a regular member of the heritage committee, so I am not normally part of the clause-by-clause process, but because of the work that I am doing on behalf of my constituents and others with respect to the particular issues around forced confessions and human rights abuses, I am putting forward amendments at the committee stage. I have given notice of those amendments. Those amendments have been translated and distributed to members of the heritage committee. They are in their proper form. They are available to be considered, but the motion that has been put forward today would obstruct my right, and the right of other members who have put amendments on notice, to be able to move those amendments forward for consideration.
Having been following the proceedings, I think there is a significant risk that the way the motion has been worded in particular restricts the movement of further amendments. Normally, when time allocation is moved in the House, any amendments that have been moved or put forward are then up for consideration and a vote is prescribed at the end of that time. Also, if a question is put forward, for instance a motion that a question not be further adjourned, that issue is voted on by the House before moving to the vote on the question. Regarding the rights of members, if this motion, and in particular the prohibition on moving amendments, is able to advance, it would prevent me from being able to move an amendment at committee that I had given notice of months ago. It would prevent any reconsideration of aspects of the question, the debate, the movement of the amendment or a vote on it.
I have the same concerns that various colleagues have raised, with respect to the impact of the limited time that has been created, but I also think we need to hear specifically about the measures that prevent members like me from bringing forward amendments that are important to their constituents and to people around the world, in terms of the impact on international human rights. These amendments send a clear message about Canada not being complicit in broadcasting or promoting these horrific abuses. There are forced confessions: People are tortured and forced to confess on TV, and then those messages are being aired in Canadian broadcasting. That is a very important issue. It is an amendment that I think reflects the public interest, and it is an amendment that I suspect would have broad support. I suspect even members of the government would be willing to support some of those amendments that deal with human rights issues, which have not been as widely discussed in the public domain.
I would ask you to rule on the implications, for the rights of members, of this real attack on the ability to move amendments at the committee stage and what it means for the fact that we are supposed to be able to bring forward substantive amendments that we cannot always bring forward in the House.
What does that mean for our rights, as well as the issues of time that I think are still outstanding, insofar as we have not had a ruling on those in the proper form? I would ask you to take these issues under consideration and advise the House on them.