Ottawa

In and out of order

Twice last week—here and here—the Speaker seemed to fret that questions asked by the opposition were not sufficiently specific to the administrative responsibilities of government. I’ve noted this issue and the Speaker Scheer’s rulings in the past, see here, here, here and here. And now, as Colin Horgan notes, Peter Van Loan is voicing some concern.

For the sake of discussion, you can include a question the government side had Brent Rathgeber ask last month. One that was not ruled out of order.

Mr. Speaker, Albertans are very concerned about the NDP’s position regarding the oil sands. The NDP appears all too willing to abandon the interests of construction workers and oil sands workers. For example, both the former NDP environment critic, an Albertan, and the current leadership contender, Mr. Brian Topp, have called for a moratorium on oil sands development. Meanwhile, the NDP natural resources and environment critics have actually taken it up a notch and are telling our international trading partners not to trade with Canada.

Could the Minister of Natural Resources give this House an update on the latest academic research on the viability of the oil sands?

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