In testimony given by witnesses, including ministers, at committee, they are allowed to give their opening statements. They don't have to be as relevant as we would want.
I'm not going to rule it out of order. I'm going through the new O’Brien and Bosc, and under “Testimony” it says:
Witnesses appearing before committees are usually asked to make a brief opening statement, summarizing their views or the views of the organization they represent, on the subject of the committee’s inquiry.
Then you're allowed to answer questions.
So if Minister Prentice feels this is important as it relates to our overall study of the estimates and the work the department has undertaken, then I'm going to allow him to bring that forward.