Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise on a point of order today under clause 23(m) which states, “In debate, a Member will be called to order by the Speaker if the Member introduces any matter in debate that offends the practices and precedents of this Assembly.”
I’ve waited until today, Madam Speaker, to look at Hansard to make sure of the remarks. Yesterday during question period and I quote from page 18 of the unedited Hansard from Wednesday, February 12, 2014, “We’ve heard that deputy ministers will move money that is intended for human resources over to projects because they want to fulfil their mandate within their department. My view is they are actually breaking direction laid out by the
Legislature. In essence, it’s tantamount, in my view, of breaking the law.”
On the same page, Mr. Hawkins also said, “I’d like to ask what the Finance Minister is going to do if we know that deputy ministers are signing off human resources money that is designated, protected and passed in this Legislature by a duly elected body when they go behind the scenes and re-appropriate the money for their pet projects.”
Madam Speaker, Mr. Hawkins has clearly accused deputy ministers of deliberate criminal behaviour and, in doing so, I believe violates the established practices and rules of this Assembly. There have been explicit rulings on this matter in the past.
On March 25, 1995, in a landmark ruling, the Honourable Sam Gargan ruled, “The respect in which Members hold this institution is clearly evident. In order to uphold and enhance this respect, I will not permit comments, whether written or spoken, in this Legislative Assembly that have the tendency to question the personal integrity of others in this House or impute motives to those unable to respond or which have had the impact of adversely reflecting on those persons outside the Legislature.”
More recently, on February 15, 2007, Honourable Paul Delorey ruled, “It is both the rule of this Assembly and a common courtesy to not make reference to persons who are not Members of this House and do not enjoy parliamentary immunity. This includes reference to Members of the public specifically by name or in such a way that there can be no mistake as to the identity of the individual involved. The parliamentary immunity that we all enjoy within this Chamber comes with certain responsibilities. I would ask that Members respect the rights of those who do not have direct voice in this Chamber both in formal session and in Committee of the Whole.”
On that basis, Madam Speaker, I respectfully request that Mr. Hawkins be directed to withdraw his remarks and apologize to the House. Thank you.