Madam Speaker: I have a ruling for the House.

Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.

Madam Speaker: Order, please.

The honourable Leader of the official opposition will be recognized when I am certain I can hear what he is about to say.

The honourable Leader of the official opposition, on a point of order.

Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): Madam Speaker, you have been standing for the last number of--at least 30 seconds--and the Minister of Education has continued to defy your order in this Chamber. I would ask you to call her to order, please.

Hon. Linda McIntosh (Minister of Education and Training): On the same point of order, Madam Speaker. I do acknowledge that I did not see you standing. I do apologize for not seeing you standing. In my distress over their refusal to acknowledge the good that came with the dramatic increase in women in the civil service, I did not see you standing. I do apologize.

Madam Speaker: I thank the honourable Minister of Education.

Madam Speaker: The honourable member for Emerson, on a new point of order.

* (1420)

Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson): I seriously raise this as a point of order. The honourable Minister of Education stood and apologized to the Speaker for not recognizing the Speaker standing, and I would suggest that the honourable member opposite extend the same courtesy to the Speaker and offer her apologies and apologize to this House.

Madam Speaker: The honourable member for Wellington, on the same point of order.

Ms. Becky Barrett (Wellington): Madam Speaker, I, too, did not see that you were standing, and I, too, apologize for not recognizing that.

Madam Speaker: I thank the honourable member for Wellington.

Madam Speaker: During debate of Bill 62 on October 7, 1996, the deputy government House leader (Mr. Praznik) raised a point of order which the Deputy Speaker took under advisement. In raising the point of order, the deputy government House leader stated that the honourable member for Elmwood (Mr. Maloway) was imputing a wrongdoing and stated that it was improper to "raise an incident that is not true and imply that somehow the member for Arthur-Virden (Mr. Downey) was involved in a land deal related to Alcan."

Having reviewed Hansard, I am ruling that this was a dispute over facts and that the deputy government House leader did not have a point of order.