Madam Speaker, I noted that during the member's comments he referred to the existence of an independent person looking into the investigatory side of the whistleblowing legislation. He said that the president of the Public Service Commission was not acceptable because that person would somehow be filtered by the minister. I am not sure exactly how that would happen. I know that under the applicable legislation with regard to the public service the president of the Public Service Commission does his or her own report. It happens to be tabled in the House by the minister but it is certainly not written by the minister. I am a little curious about that.
I am asking the next question quite sincerely. There seems to be a misunderstanding that a question in the House was a pivotal moment in determining that there was going to be pressure and that we were going to have an independent officer. The member will certainly recall, because the letter is under his signature on behalf of the committee, that at the committee meeting, immediately preceding the question that the member posed to the minister in the House, we agreed unanimously as a committee and sent to the minister our letter recommending the creation of an independent officer as a consequence of all of the hearings. It was the witnesses who gave us the foundation on which we could make that recommendation.
Why is the member suggesting that somehow a member's question in question period was the reason we did something when clearly the minutes of our committee meeting will show that immediately preceding, the committee unanimously agreed to make that recommendation to the minister?