Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, we are not debating a bill; we are debating a motion. This motion does not fetter the Speakers in any way, shape or form. The Speakers would have to negotiate or come up with a memorandum of understanding, a contractual agreement, some kind of agreement that deals with the details of how this is to be derived.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, well, I am not surprised that leader of the Green Party is not happy. However, I would like to say from the get-go that her attempt to continue to put words in the mouth of our former sergeant-at-arms is absolutely and totally inappropriate. It is political theatre and political opportunism on her part.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, we do have an integrated security unit and force in the mother Parliament in London, as well as in Australia. They were responding to events, modernizing and doing what is necessary when there is recognition that it could be a place that is targeted. We have a living example of that now.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, the whips and the House leaders have been involved in discussions regarding the motion. The motion is a common sense motion that builds in everything needed to be consistent with the recommendations from the Auditor General's report, and other considerations, such as separation of powers.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, the whole question of an integrated security force was recommended, and the recommended time, not a deadline, to have it in place, was 2015. There has been no shortage of discussions between the security advisory committees on the House of Commons side and from the Senate side.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, as usual, we are once again watching the politics of division coming from the House leader of the official opposition. This is a situation where we would have an integrated security unit, which would consist of both parliamentary security personnel and the RCMP. This is something that was called for as long ago as the Auditor General's report of 2009.

Environment committee  No, of course not. Anything that's really said: water management and tile drainage; when we had a farm we drained our place, and it's a costly exercise and you'd better know that you own it and you want to get it back over a number of years. I don't see any objection to that. Pest management; sometimes there is a contradiction between renaturalization pest management and what farmers need.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Opposition members would like to suggest that there is not caucus solidarity on the government side, Mr. Speaker. They are incorrect.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague for saying so eloquently what I should have said in response to the previous question. We thank our security forces. The House of Commons force was very dutiful and did all the right things on October 22. We are not saying that one is better than the other.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, it has been over three months since the events of October 22. There has been a lot of debate and discussion. We have a government initiative. We hoped for opposition support. It may be an overreach on our part to assume that this would happen, but we certainly have caucus solidarity on this issue.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, there have been ongoing discussions. This motion did not derive out of thin air. There have been a lot of discussions up until now to get to where we are. I addressed the constitutional question in my speech. The question of the immunity and privileges of members of Parliament will remain unaltered.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, when people talk about separation of powers, they often reference the mother Parliament in the U.K. The U.K. has a unified security force, as do some other very important Commonwealth partners. Australia has a unified security force, which was put in place in 24 hours when officials realized that there was a real and present significant threat, and they worried about the details later.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, this is a serious subject, and I do not appreciate being heckled.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, I call that heckling at a time like this. The integration of House of Commons and Senate parliamentary security is a necessary element, which would build upon a strong tradition of ensuring that protection and security are carried out effectively and efficiently in the face of evolving threats.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, this is a government-inspired initiative and an important measure that we wish to put into place. The transition plan will contain the details of how this would be achieved. The Speakers will be a very important part of that transition planning. They will lead that exercise.