Parliamentary Speeches

This is the reason why microphones are sometimes turned off: to preserve the honour of the House when there are conversations happening back and forth without people having the floor. No member, I can guarantee, has ever been cut off in terms of making their presentation, posing a question or giving an answer, with the exception of the time when the Speaker is up. This matter has been brought up with House leaders. I have talked about this issue and it is being addressed. The hon. member for Miramichi—Grand Lake, on a new matter, I would hope.

It is an important issue that the member is raising; however, there are limits to what the Speaker can do. There is enough to do in policing what happens in this place and at committee in terms of the exercise of our parliamentary duty, but to be able to monitor all members' social media feeds is difficult to do. I do know that it was raised on one issue, and I invited the hon. member to withdraw his comments. The member was present and did so. I cannot do that right now, but I thank the hon. member for that. This is a good opportunity once again to encourage all members to rise to the level that is befitting of the chairs and jobs they hold in this place and to conduct themselves accordingly. I think that is an important reminder for all of us so we can conduct ourselves in a way that we would be proud to have done. It is important for all members to comport themselves with dignity, to live up to the positions we all hold in the House of Commons. I thank all members for their interventions today.

I have the honour to inform the House that a communication has been received as follows: Rideau Hall Ottawa November 1, 2023 Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to inform you that the Right Honourable Mary May Simon, Governor General of Canada, signified royal assent by written declaration to the bill listed in the Schedule to this letter on the 1st day of November, 2023, at 4:12 p.m. Yours sincerely, Maia Welbourne Acting Secretary to the Governor General The schedule indicates the bill assented to was Bill C-42, An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts.

I thank the hon. parliamentary secretary for raising this point. As all members are now experienced members, they would know that the Chair has asked many times, that when they do rise to seek unanimous consent, that they make every effort to please consult with colleagues in other parties, certainly the whips or the House leaders, so we can ensure we do not the waste the time of the House and of all hon. members.

I thank the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby for raising this point of order. The member brought up a nuanced argument, one that I will consider and come back to the House on. I would like to note that the member did note that although the question would start off as a hybrid question that would not refer to the administrative matters of the House, near the end of the question it would come back to it. There were, of course, members of the government who were willing to stand to answer those questions. I do appreciate the carefulness of the member in bringing up this issue and I will come back to the House with a ruling on that.

I am hoping that we can close this matter. I have heard from all members of the House, and I think I have a pretty full understanding of the issues raised. I would like to thank all members who participated. I thank the member for New Westminster—Burnaby, and I will get back to the House. Unless there is a pressing and novel point, I suggest that we close this subject. The member for Kingston and the Islands.

I am sorry to have to interrupt the hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill. It being 5:43 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the business of supply. The question is on the motion. If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

Again, I would like to remind all members, in their questions and answers, to make sure they are not impugning individual members. On matters regarding their courage, intelligence or even their presence in the House, I ask members to exercise restraint and decorum. We can have passionate debates in the House and do so within the rules that have been established by this place. The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Over the last two weeks, many members have taken it upon themselves to quote my statement back to me, and I am quite happy to defend that statement as your Chair. Again, I will say that it is important for us to recognize that all members of the House have duties, regardless of which side they belong to, duties that sometimes take them out of the chamber. That is the reason why we try not to mention whether or not a member is present in the House. It is part of the duties. We are going to continue. I believe the hon. House leader is going to answer this question.

It is important for all members to respect not only the regulations but also the traditions of the House. There is certainly an understanding that, when the Speaker takes his or her feet, all members should sit down. I did not ask for a while, but when I asked, I would note that the members did all sit down. I appreciate that they followed this important tradition of the House. The hon. member for Lakeland has a point of order.

I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of the recipients of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Awards, including the winners of the John C. Polanyi Award, the Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering, the Donna Strickland Prize for Societal Impact of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research, the Synergy Awards for Innovation, and the Arthur B. McDonald Fellowships.

I would like to thank the member for Lakeland for bringing up the issue of decorum. I would also like to cut the member a bit of slack. All members, from time to time, can be very passionate about their debates, so they know that there will be interventions that are made. I made that clear in the statement about decorum, which I am glad the member supports. I am glad, listening to the applause from members in the House, that all members support improving decorum in this place and following the guidelines that have been set out from the Chair. I will certainly take a look at that issue. I was a little preoccupied today, trying to make sure all members were acting in a decorous manner. If I missed that, I certainly will look. However, raising the issue about any hon. member's commitment to their ridings, to their region or to their country is something we should all avoid. Every member here has taken the steps to represent their communities, and they do so with honour. We need to make sure we never question that, as we should also make sure we do not question members, as I indicated, about their courage, presence in the House and so on. I encourage all members to refer to the statement I made two weeks ago. I thank the member for Lakeland for that. I thank the members who supported her and applauded her for making that intervention, and I would truly hope that, for the rest of the day and going forward, we will all try to avoid what happened here today during Oral Questions. I thank all hon. members for that.

I am going to interrupt the member for Fleetwood—Port Kells. To indicate that any hon. member in the House deliberately made false statements is against the rules of the House. If the member is able to, I will encourage him to start his statement again. Understanding what I have just said, he would conduct himself accordingly. The hon. member for Fleetwood—Port Kells has the floor, from the top in an amended fashion.

Colleagues, once again, I will encourage you to please reread the statement that I made from the chair almost two weeks ago regarding trying to bring more decorum to the House. It is really important, not only for ourselves but also for all Canadians, that we understand that each member of Parliament who comes here comes with the best of intentions to serve her or his country, to do so with honour and to do so with integrity. There are statements we can make that can certainly reflect a point of view people have, but let us make sure we do not cross over the line into calling into question the dignity and honour of all members.