Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't have a lengthy statement to make. Clerks are mute in debate, and I haven't lost that habit, unfortunately, since I retired. I thought what I would take is a clerk's tag and first advise that you proceed with caution, which are usually the first wor

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, I’d say yes. I think the Speaker has the necessary tools to ensure that debates in the House of Commons take place with the greatest dignity possible. But this responsibility does not rest solely with the Speaker. He must act in partnership with the party leaders, the

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's a lot, but this power can’t be exercised absolutely without the support of the party in question. I’ll give you an example. I won’t name the former member involved, because he’s still around, and he could come back one day. A member had accused the Prime Minister of being

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, sir. If I had known I was going to be here today I would have kept my 1992 notes. As I recall, this particular draft, I think it's paragraph 11(1)(d)--I met with the committee and gave evidence--followed my recommendation. What it does is it simply--the first part, not the l

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's what I'm getting at. And I would just couch it, in my words, a little differently and say that the leadership is supporting the authority of the chair--not necessarily the action the chair took in the particular circumstances, but the authority the House has vested in the

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I couldn’t quote you a section of the rules from the Barbados legislature, for example, but I can admit that the problem is a universal one in terms of the Speaker’s position and human behaviour. There is a saying in the Lac-Saint-Jean region to the effect that people will be p

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I don’t have my notes with me, but as far as I remember, I didn’t go that far. I don’t know if Madam Champagne remembers. I find that a monetary penalty may have no meaning for some members, depending on their means, and be very important for others.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  May I make a comment? Perhaps Madam Champagne would like to add a few words, because she has more experience in the Chair than I do. The matter of applause and ovations that replaced the thumping of desks, once the debates began to be broadcast, is another problem. This proble

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I will refer to the decision made by Madam Sauvé in the early 1980s. She had said that she would accept a list for Question Period, but not for members’ statements. This is a technical detail. With regard to the specific situation you bring up, I don’t know.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, I would say to Mr. Godinthat we are not in complete disagreement.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I’d say that you are using much more specific language than I am. I’m not criticizing you for adopting this position. On the contrary, I agree with you. In the beginning, I believed it was a partnership between the Speaker and the leadership, and that if the Speaker made a dec

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It was a vote of the House, a secret vote.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It would be very easy to make a small change to the Rules and express that very idea as the will of the House.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think it wouldn’t hurt, but I must repeat: think twice about it before writing the rule.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think it would add meaningfulness to the consequence of being suspended. It's less than it was at one time, but there's still an incestuous relationship with the media. It used to be a good way to get the headline. But I think it would add some meaningfulness to the decision th