Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions today. The first petition has over 200 signatures from residents of Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta asking for Parliament to take action to ensure the labelling of those products that contain genetically modified organisms. They ask Parliament to adopt legislation, so that citizens and consumers will be able to make an informed choice about the products they buy.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, next week in Fairbanks, Alaska is an all-important meeting of the Arctic Council where eight nations of the Arctic will be holding a meeting, represented by foreign ministers. It is clear, based on the most recent science, that the Arctic is the fastest-warming region in the world and that thawing permafrost and melting ice represent a threat not just to the future of the Arctic but to global climate systems.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I had in mind a longer question, but given your injunction, I am wondering if the hon. member for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston has had any opportunity to look at the proposals I have made for changing our standing rules and if he sees merit in any of them.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I know my hon. colleague from Lethbridge was not here in the 41st Parliament. Regarding the language of dictatorship and association with the People's Republic of China with this government, and as much as I object to the current Liberal government deciding to put forward changes to the Standing Orders that are not achieved by consensus, I wonder if the hon. member is familiar with the following facts.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I hope you can shed light on this. I do not believe it is the option of a member of Parliament to pass judgment on the relevance of a question. It was directly relevant to points made by the member for Lethbridge. She raised the People's Republic of China.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, although I do not think this is one of the more substantive issues before us in terms of standing rules, it is important that we look at the parliamentary calendar from time to time. Every parliament around the world has different sitting times. Provincial legislatures meet far less than the federal Parliament.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition today. The petition is sponsored by World Animal Protection. The petitioners are asking for the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie and others to consider that in the event of national disasters, the rescue of animals is essential for the recovery in the wake of a disaster.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from Canadians on an issue that we wished was solved by now. It is to remove flavours and other ways of targeting youth in the tobacco industry. These petitioners, primarily from the Thunder Bay area, are asking the government to remove all favouring from all tobacco products.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, one thing we need to examine is the meaning of the word “modernize” and what kind of mandate there is for modernization. I noted in the paper I presented in response to the government's suggestions on the Standing Orders that when we looked at the Vox Populi poll the government did in the month of December, 70% of respondents, and there were many respondents, said they would rather see more parties working together, co-operatively, than one large party making all the decisions, even if it took more time.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, certainly the conflict that erupted in this place in the weeks before our Easter break was entirely about the decision-making process. Any changes to how we operate in this place should reflect at least a large degree of consensus, perhaps not unanimity, because it is fundamental that we all agree on the best and fairest ways for us to do our work.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchère. To me, money is not the biggest problem. The problem is that hon. members are not equal. In theory, all hon. members are meant to be equal, but in reality, we are not. Money is not the root of the problem: power is.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, I will begin my speech by addressing the issue under debate. The question we are actually dealing with is a question of privilege around access to voting here, although the debate has moved to a very important debate on our standing rules. I plan to address most of my comments to that aspect by saying that there were very few people here in our 41st Parliament on a Friday morning when the government of the day moved a measure to remove our security and safety in this place from the hands and power of the Speaker of the House and to the RCMP.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, the issue of access to Parliament Hill first arose under the previous government. The member was not in the 41st Parliament, but we did have problems where Parliament was being used for visiting heads of state and dignitaries instead of the traditional practice of using Rideau Hall.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, I generally agree with every word my friend from Burnaby South says, but I have to say I was disturbed to hear in a comparison that the Harper administration governed better than what we are seeing from the current government. I have lots of concerns about broken promises by the Liberal government, but I have to say that when it assumed power, I was encouraged by, for instance, initial signs, such as the transparency of the mandate letters.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. government House leader for withdrawing the most offensive portions of the proposed discussion paper. That is a positive move as we go forward. However, I am concerned. As she will know, I presented a very substantive response to her discussion paper, suggesting ways that we could reduce the greenhouse gas content.