Chair, it's unfortunate that I cannot read this very important report from the Speaker of the House of Commons. I will go to his summary. He said that:
Any observer of the 39th Parliament will realize that the problem in the Ethics Committee is only one of the recent manifestations of the need for crisis management in committees.
Almost a year ago, in a ruling given on March 29, 2007, l referred to the challenges encountered in this minority parliament, saying, in part: “...neither the political realities of the moment nor the sheer force of numbers should force us to set aside the values inherent in the parliamentary conventions and procedures by which we govern our deliberations.”
We saw that happen just now, and it shouldn't have happened.
He went on to say:
I went on to refer to situations in committee where, because decisions of the Chair are subject to appeal, decisions that were procedurally sound had been overturned by the majority.
Tyranny of the masses is what he is referring to, and you have to be very careful when members of this committee--