If we could arrive, as a parliament, at a place where we could agree that the Speaker should have that kind of power, then the opposition, it seems to me, would feel much better about this House than we do if we knew that in times when the government was abusing its power, that you as the Chair felt you had the power to step in and protect the opposition from illegitimate or ill-advised use of the power of time allocation.
Si nous pouvions parvenir à une entente en vertu de laquelle la présidence disposerait d'un pouvoir accru, les partis de l'opposition feraient, il me semble, plus confiance au processus parlementaire, sachant que la présidence aurait le pouvoir d'intervenir pour les protéger lorsque le gouvernement abuserait de son pouvoir en recourant de façon malavisée ou illégitime à l'attribution de temps.
