Mr. Chair, I was hoping we could get to the amendment. It was the request of Mr. Bachand, and I think Madame Lalonde was going to speak to it.
To accommodate the concerns that were elicited by Mr. Bachand, after Mr. Bachand's motion we can say:
and including, but not limited to: Peter Tinsley, Chair of the Military Police Complaints Commission; Richard Colvin, diplomat; Capt. Steve Moore, Canadian Forces Provost Marshal; and General Rick Hillier to discuss recent events at the MPCC hearings.
It will accommodate the Bloc's concern about not limiting witnesses, and certainly we've heard that from the Liberals and others. After hearing from Mr. Hawn, it sounds clear to me that they don't want to discuss the MPCC hearings and they don't want these witnesses to come forward. As I said before, I think the amendment is trying to bring together the wishes of Mr. Bachand and certainly what I had in my motion.
My motion is very explicit, Mr. Chair. It was to have committee hearings on the recent events at the MPCC and that the key players are Mr. Tinsley, Mr. Colvin, Mr. Moore, and of course Mr. Hillier. To not have those witnesses in front of this committee and to not discuss recent events at the MPCC hearings is to basically waste the opportunity.
I opened my remarks by saying that the rationale for my motion—which I deferred to Mr. Bachand in the spirit of cooperation—goes back to the motion that was passed in the House on Afghanistan. It was to deal with transparency when it came to detainees.
I think it's a very simple amendment to have “and including, but not limited to”, and I named the people: Mr. Tinsley, chair of the MPCC; Mr. Colvin, the diplomat; Mr. Moore, the Canadian Forces provost marshal; and General Hillier, to discuss recent events at the MPCC hearings. It captures the spirit of Mr. Bachand.
It might not capture the wishes of the government. They still have the opportunity to discuss the issue around sections 37 and 38, which they were wanting to discuss. It is a compromise. I certainly did that when I deferred to Mr. Bachand. I think it also allows us to have more witnesses if we want to. We're not limited.
I'll leave it at that, Chair, to have that amendment, “and including, but not limited to”, and then name the names, “to discuss recent events at the MPCC hearings”. I'm moving that.