Reinstatement of Government Bills  Speaker, and you may possibly have noted, that when Prime Minister Mulroney moved closure and time allocation, there were many opposition Liberal members who raised an awful howl and it was the worst thing in the world. Well, the former Prime Minister and the former House leader who just finished speaking eclipsed anything that Mr.

Reinstatement of Government Bills  Let us not get too excited about the issue of whether or not the time allocation will interfere with debate on these individual bills. All members are able to take their own positions. The hon. member outlined why he was opposed to all the bills that might be reinstated.

Canada Elections Act  It is a shame when we cannot even have three hours of debate before the minister jumps to his feet and moves time allocation. It is as if he is addicted to closing down debate in this place. He has become so addicted to this closing down that he hardly has enough time to go from one fix to the next. I am beginning to wonder whether he will move time allocation as new bills are introduced to the House.

Parliamentary Reform  Time allocation and closure are supposed to be about managing time. The government uses time allocation to manage controversy. When it introduces a controversial bill, it invokes time allocation almost immediately, slipping the bill through Parliament before the opposition has time to solicit public support for its point of view.

Privilege  Nevertheless, I would like any decision on such a subject to be made with the consent of all parties in the House and not simply on my own. We have an agreement regarding oral question period covering the time allocated for each question and answer, the order to the questions and the number of questions for each party. Since the Speaker is a servant of the House, I must do as I am told, if I can put it that way, by all parties in this House.

Points of Order  Given this set of circumstances, I find that it is in order for the government to give notice and move time allocation pursuant to Standing Order 78 on the consideration of this motion. I draw the attention of members to page 563 of Marleau and Montpetit, where the following point is made regarding the use of time allocation: ...although the rule permits the government to negotiate with opposition parties towards the adoption of a timetable for the consideration by the House of a bill at one or more stages (including the stage for the consideration of Senate amendments), it also allows the government to impose strict limits on the time for debate.

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (cruelty to animals and firearms) and the Firearms Act  Speaker, my arguments have raised two questions which I hope, in your wisdom, will give us an answer because we must ensure we do things right for the future of parliaments in this great land. Can the motion be time allocated using Standing Order 78? Can the motion remain on the Order Paper as placed and as worded? Until the Speaker rules on this point of order I would request that the Speaker refuse to allow the time allocation motion to be moved and defer any vote on the motion regarding the Senate message until this matter is resolved.

Canada Elections Act  They are on the public record as stating that they do not want this legislation to receive third reading. All the complaints about time allocation and the fact that the government is attempting to pass a bill before the recess are only excuses. At the end of the day it does not matter how much time is given to my Alliance colleagues.

Specific Claims Resolution Act  Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Jonquière for her question and her kind words. The only thing that saddens me today, on top of the motion for time allocation and the deaf ear the government is turning to first nations, is the fact that the first nations are not here today to debate their future directly with us. What really irks me is that I should be the one to have to speak for the first nations.

Specific Claims Resolution Act  Mr. Speaker, during their administration, the Liberals have invoked time allocation and closure a total of 84 times. The record in the previous administration, the Mulroney administration, was a total of 72 times. Therefore, we are already well past the record setting pace of the Mulroney administration.

Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Act  The time allocated for questions and comments is over. Resuming debate.

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (cruelty to animals and firearms) and the Firearms Act  Madam Speaker, I want to devote a couple of minutes to comments and a question regarding the use of time allocation yet again on this very important issue of so-called gun control or firearms registration. The reality is that I and many of my colleagues would have liked to represent our constituents on this very important issue.

Public Safety, 2002  But this is a special debate today, discussing a bill like this one that has an impact on people's individual freedom, rights and safety. At the same time, there is time allocation to gag us once again. We could set up a counter and keep track of the number of times they have forced through a time allocation motion. Today, once again, the government House leader rose in the House to tell us that Bill C-17 is a very important bill.

Public Safety, 2002  We also realize that many bills move forward even though they are not perfect, or are not what they should be, because there are no clear guidelines in this government. For all these reasons, I hope that, despite its time allocation motion, the government will reconsider its decision to have us vote on a bill when several of its provisions are unacceptable and fail to protect human rights.

Public Safety Act 2002  When the minister explained that changes were made to the rules in the 1960s to introduce in a time allocation process, I did not write down everything he said, but I can tell him that the Liberals, when he was in the opposition, were probably the most vocal in denouncing time allocation.