Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think some heckling actually adds to a debate, and I think sometimes when there's some mild heckling, it aids a debater, but when it gets out of hand, how do you control that? I have no suggestions for you except that it could be the Speaker, and as was said earlier, the leade

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Just with regard to the calendar, the blocks, and the work weeks, the tolerance seems to be three weeks in which you can be productive, and after that it starts to wane. I think ideally, as I mentioned earlier, there should be three-week blocks. As for the family-friendly events

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think we just need to keep moving towards a more family-friendly House, and that will encourage more women to run, because they are usually the ones who are looking after children. I can't think of any rule changes that would encourage.... I think we should just keep moving for

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I was here when they used to slam their desktops in the House instead of applauding, and it was noisy and the public did not like it. All it took was, I think, the Conservatives, or Progressive Conservatives, stopping, and then everybody stopped. I think if there is guilt and sha

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As a staffer, it really doesn't have much of an impact on me, but I noticed that it has a positive impact on members. I don't vote. Actually, sometimes in the evening when members are voting I don't really need to be there to watch them vote. When I was working for the whip, I di

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Because we did it last year, I see it as a possibility. There might be a case in which the provinces haven't established their break weeks, but with that type of change, with unanimous consent you can rejig it when you get closer to the date, if you wish, by one week or something

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think that ideally, three weeks on, one week off works the best. When you get into the fourth or fifth week, often they are not productive at all: people are at each other, and nothing is moving forward. They are almost like a wasted week, I find, when you get into these fifth

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Do you mean In relation to their being family-friendly or not?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Well, not off the top of my head. I do have a list of things I would like to change, but it has nothing to do with family-friendly. It has to do with increasing the role of backbenchers—and the opposition, now that I'm in opposition. I change my view as I go from government to op

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Pardon me?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Well, here's one. I'll give you an example: motions to instruct a committee giving it authority to divide a bill. They are moved by a private member, but when the debate is adjourned they become a government order. They're controlled by the government afterwards, so they just sit

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Is that a technical problem, or a...?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I guess I don't grasp what the politics of it is. I suppose, if you were serious—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I guess I'm not familiar with the issue. I really don't know.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  They had the day care here when I first started having a family, and I found it too expensive at that time, for one thing, and once my children were of school age it didn't make sense for them to be in downtown Ottawa; I'd rather have them close to their school and home. It didn'