Did that count as my time? I'm just kidding.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to, if I may, Mr. Walsh, cut to what I think is the crux of this matter, which is that you have written that Parliament has its own set or sets of privileges and its own customs, which have evolved over time, and legislating away parliamentary privilege or autonomy, to use a word you haven't used, is done sparingly. Obviously, it was done when the country was created, and it was amended in 1868, and you say on page 10 of your brief that, “Since that time there have been no legislated provisions, that we are aware of, that have affected the privileges of the House”. I'm going to take it that you're absolutely correct on that, because it's not a hobby of mine to read 19th-century and early 20th-century parliamentary privilege history.
My question is this. We have the Minister of Justice, who today in the House did not refer to that part of your brief, but to the part immediately before that, which is where you write that you feel that “some of the proposals of Bill C-2 are contrary to the Constitution”, and then, “but it is not unconstitutional to enact legislation that limits the constitutional privileges of the House”. Somewhere else you write that at least Parliament should have their heads up when they do this, when they legislate away privileges.
I guess this is the crux of it. The Minister of Justice and, I can only assume, the government side feel it is within Parliament's power, by a majority vote, to legislate away privileges. But you say that it hasn't been done, basically, since 1868.
Am I summarizing the crux of your opinion correctly with respect to privileges?