Thank you, Mr. Lewis. I would like to advise the House that Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, provides that indemnities paid to Members under the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act for the 1994-95 fiscal year will not be adjusted to accord with changes in the consumer price index. I believe the principle, the intent, was to freeze the salaries under this particular bill.

I reviewed your ruling, Mr. Lewis, with regard to the motion that the clause be amended by adding the following subsection immediately following proposed subsection 32.1(6): (7) for the fiscal year commencing April 1, 1994 the amount of an indemnity paid under subsection 23(1), 25(1), 26(2), 27(1) or 28(1) is reduced by five per cent. In accordance with Beauchesne's section 698 under the admissibility of amendments in committee, section 698 reads: "An amendment which is out of order on any of the following grounds cannot be put from the chair: (1) An amendment is out of order if it is irrelevant to the bill, beyond its scope or governed by or dependent upon amendments already negatived. (2) An amendment must not be inconsistent with, or contradictory to, the bill as so far agreed to by the committee, nor must it be inconsistent with a decision which the committee has given upon a former amendment."

So, therefore, Mr. Lewis, I rule that the scope of the proposed amendment is not within the scope of the intended bill put forth before this House and, therefore, I agree with your ruling in this House. This House will go back to committee of the whole, with Mr. Lewis in the chair. Thank you.