Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for appearing here today.
First, I'm a bit surprised that we're here today talking about meaningful Senate reform when the body of evidence from the Senate—based on previous bills, debates, and testimony—would indicate that there is no consensus on whether this bill is constitutionally valid or on whether it is accepted by the stakeholders, by which I mean the provinces.
In my own province of New Brunswick, it's certainly not clear that you, as the minister responsible, or the Prime Minister have spoken to Premier Graham, who is both Premier and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. It seems clear from the words of Danny Williams, Benoît Pelletier, and the list goes on...I don't want to talk about Ontario, because Ontario and your name don't always go hand in glove.
But the simple question is, why are we here when you, in discharging your duty as minister, have not yet had full discussions on Senate reform and this bill with your provincial counterparts?