Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, I do not think that question was intended for me. Having been in this place for 20 years now, I have as much respect for our security guards in the House of Commons and the Senate as I do for the RCMP officers. I moved this motion and sent this letter to the govern

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, this has not been specifically included in the motion. There is no reference in the original motion that the RCMP would report to the parliamentary authorities. It says respect this and that, but it does not mention division of powers in the motion. There also is no

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, last week I sent a letter to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. I would like to read it so it will be in the record. I also sent it to the chief government whip, the Prime Minister, the leader of the official opposition, the leader of my party

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, I will basically continue with the same question that I asked all my other colleagues. If the RCMP were responsible for security, would the member agree that it be on condition that, under a contractual agreement, it must ultimately report to the parliamentary autho

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows that I wrote to the Minister of Public Safety and to the Chief Government Whip last week. I suggested that they consider an amendment to the government's resolution to stipulate that the RCMP have a contractual agreement requiring it to report to p

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, I have worked with the member for Prince Edward—Hastings and I have a lot of respect for him. The question I have for the member is along the lines of the question I posed earlier. I do not have a problem with a unified force that would respect our guards, and I thi

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, the government's motion does not specify that the RCMP would have to report to Parliament. Therefore, the interpretation could be that it would be reporting to the government, and that could be seen as undermining the authority of Parliament and not respecting the di

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, the question I would like to ask my colleague has to do with a concern I expressed to the government in a letter to the Minister of Public Safety, the Chief Government Whip, the Prime Minister and all party leaders. This country has three branches of government: the

Parliamentary Precinct Security  Mr. Speaker, when I was on that side of the House as chief government whip and deputy House leader, we had requests from the official opposition and the third party not to introduce a motion to put time allocation on a debate until the respective caucuses had a chance to discuss

Parliamentary Precinct Security  That is not true.

Parliamentary Precinct Security  I know a couple of your members who do not agree.

Canadian Flag  Mr. Speaker, I was elected to Canada's Parliament for the first time two days before the 30th anniversary of our flag. In 10 days, we will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. I have since come to learn more about and appreciate the origins and significance of the maple leaf as t

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition signed by Canadians in the Ottawa area who are urging the government and the Minister of Health to support Bill C-356 presented by the member for Nickel Belt, which would call for a national strategy to fight dementia and Alzheimer's diseas

Canadian Heritage  Mr. Speaker, whether flying over a school or a town hall, an embassy abroad or a Canadian Forces base, Canada's flag and the maple leaf are recognized worldwide as the distinctive symbols of Canada's sovereignty and are a source of pride to Canadians. As we prepare for the upcom

Citizen Voting Act  Mr. Speaker, would the member explain why the bill would treat Canadian citizens working for the Government of Canada as public servants abroad differently from the military?