Yesterday, during question period, the Chair indicated that the Leader of the Opposition had used language directed at the Minister of Foreign Affairs that was deemed to be unparliamentary. In fact, it was very similar in nature to language used earlier this year by a member who accused the Leader of the Opposition of pandering to an odious regime. At the time, that member was asked to withdraw the comment.
Therefore, yesterday, I asked that the Leader of the Opposition do the same, namely, to withdraw his comment at the earliest opportunity. To date, this has not happened. We will soon find ourselves at the time of day when the Leader of the Opposition normally undertakes one of his most important roles: leading question period. Members will recall that, when the Leader of the Opposition was himself the subject of unparliamentary language, to which I just referred, members of his caucus took great offence and made that perfectly clear to the Chair occupant. The Chair, very rightly, insisted on a withdrawal. As such, I am sure members can appreciate that I must do the same in the present circumstances.
Our parliamentary system entails abiding by the rules that members have made for themselves in the House and that they have entrusted to the Speaker and other Chair occupants to enforce.
Disregarding the authority of the Chair, who is tasked with enforcing these rules, has a corrosive effect on our proceedings. I would ask all members to reflect on this, especially the House officers for each party. Ultimately these situations also leave an increasingly negative impression for the public on the important work of the House and its members.
The Leader of the Opposition is an experienced member; he is well versed in our practices and procedures. He knows that, in our system, the role of the Leader of the Opposition is to ask questions of the ministry, ensure that it is held accountable for its actions and challenge its decisions. His role is not to make the government comfortable, quite the contrary; however, his actions must also be exercised within the existing boundaries of parliamentary decorum.
Over the past few months, there have been two occasions where he has not heeded the Speaker's rulings regarding unparliamentary language during question period. A first instance resulted in him being named and the second resulted in questions being removed from his party. Yesterday's events have resulted in a third instance.
The Leader of the Opposition should withdraw the comments he made yesterday during question period. If he is not willing to do so, the Chair will not recognize him for the remainder of today's sitting.
The hon. member for Berthier—Maskinongé has three minutes and 40 seconds to finish his intervention.