Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order that arises from a question during question period, and I would appreciate it if the Speaker could confirm if my understanding of petitions is correct.
The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health referred in his answer to a petition presented by the hon. member for Niagara West with the presumption that the member for Niagara West supported the petition he presented. I have always taken the view that, when asked to present a petition, it is not a statement of my position but it is doing what my constituents or other petitioners have requested. I worry that this is a poor precedent, but I would not want to make the presumption.