Government Operations committee  That certainly is the way such affairs were dealt with in the past. Obviously, it is greatly dependent upon the independence of the Clerk of the Privy Council. If the Clerk fits the mould of certain people who have held the position in the past, such as Mr. Gordon Robertson, who

Government Operations committee  That interpretation of what I stated is not completely false, I agree. As a member of the legal profession, when there is any misunderstanding as to what a witness wanted to say, I read the transcript of the statement. In a newspaper article, the journalist is not transcribing, b

Government Operations committee  Thank you, sir. Very kind remarks.

Government Operations committee  If it's a guideline, and the particular staffer in question does something that he or she should not have done, there's no consequence unless the minister chooses to dismiss the staffer--

Government Operations committee  --yes--or there's some discipline. As I say, something will only have a consequence if there is some legal sanction. I learned that as a judge. You have to have a legal sanction in order to enforce a guideline. A guideline can be enforced or it can not be enforced.

Government Operations committee  You need to have a very experienced chair who keeps a firm hand on the proceedings, it seems to me--such as the chair present here.

Government Operations committee  You're into an area of parliamentary procedure, and I'm not an expert on that, so I don't think I'm going to answer that. This is part of parliamentary debate. I'm sure parliamentarians have been dealing with this for hundreds of years, and will continue to do so.

Government Operations committee  I agree with that. I think the committee system is an extraordinarily effective way of checking any autocratic tendencies on the part of the government.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  She and I had quite a long conversation in which I talked about various things, and she, as is her job, reported those in a news article. She said that my feelings are hurt, but I don't think I said to her that my feelings are hurt. She may have interpreted my reaction in that wa

Government Operations committee  These are guidelines, I gather, that are written by the Privy Council Office probably, or written by I don't know who, but they don't have the force of law. They've never been adopted by anybody. They've never been debated. Excuse me for interrupting you, but guidelines are guide

Government Operations committee  That's in the law.

Government Operations committee  Absolutely. I agree with them entirely.

Government Operations committee  I hope so; I certainly hope so.

Government Operations committee  Are you no longer on that committee?