Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, in point of fact, I have spoken more often in the House over the last year than any other member. That is not the source of my complaint. My complaint is that previous Speakers, particularly Speaker Sauvé, were very clear in setting out guidelines. It is not helpful to the maintenance and improvement of decorum in this place to have S. O. 31s used for personal attacks or for nonsense such as the ridiculous non-stop carbon tax back and forth debate between the official opposition and the government. S. O. 31s are not the place for that.
Hon. Peter Van Loan: Mr. Speaker, the hon. member says that we should not be allowed to speak about a carbon tax in the House now. Every member of Parliament is responsible to his or her constituents who, if they were faced with a $21.5 billion carbon tax, would have to pay that and their personal lives would be affected by it. Nothing could be more important for a member of Parliament than to stand up for constituents on issues like taxes. I cannot imagine why she would want to shut down that debate, other than she does not like it.
The Speaker: There have been previous Speaker rulings on what S. O. 31s should and should not be used for. I will go back and look at the particular S. O. 31 that the member has complained about and, if necessary, I will come back to the House after the Thanksgiving break.