The only minister we have heard from has been the Minister for Status of Women Canada when we asked her to come to the committee to—I'm just reading carefully—“explain the manner and criteria by which funding is distributed by Status of Women Canada through each of the Women's Community Fund and Women's Partnership Fund”. We got a response from the minister that said she had received the letter. She has yet to give us a date to appear. Now, I would like to remind the committee that the letter was written on June 7.
We also have letters written on September 23 to the Minister of Justice and to the Minister of Health asking them to appear: to explain what the Minister of Justice intends to do with the $11 million that was transferred to his department, and to ask the Minister of Health to appear before the committee to explain what she intends to do with the money that was transferred to her department for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
I have spoken to the whip, as I said earlier on, who promised me that there would be at least a courtesy that said “thank you, I got your letter”. We have received neither the courtesy nor anything else.
I repeat and I reiterate here to this committee that this is totally unacceptable. It is not a case, Ms. Neville, of being snubbed. It is a case of a minister having to be accountable. That's a word that is used. That is why committees of Parliament exist: it is to ask ministers to be accountable.
They come to committee to be accountable. This is not a political committee; it is a committee of Parliament, duly made up of all of the political parties. When a minister refuses to even acknowledge the letter, I consider that to be a case, first, that the minister obviously does not care about Parliament and has no respect for Parliament and has no respect for parliamentary committees. And it's rude not to even respond and say, “I got your letter and I couldn't care less”—at least that would be a response—or whatever.
We have had no response at all from these ministers, and that has been now going on for two and a half months. This is unacceptable. I can tell you that as a minister I would not take two and a half months; I would respond to any letter from any standing committee within a week. It is just good manners. It just shows respect for Parliament and parliamentary democracy, which is in this room right now asking a minister to be accountable for moneys that were accepted by this House when it accepted the budget.
This is something that concerns me a great deal. I will tell you that I agree with you that we probably will not get the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but I believe that we should ask ministers to continue to be accountable, and so I will accept Ms. Simson's naming of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to come and speak to this issue.
Now, is there anybody else to speak to this?
Madame Boucher, is it to speak to the motion?