Thank you.
First, Mr. Chair, I am going to ask my Conservative colleagues to show a little respect when I speak, that is, to listen to me as attentively as I do when they speak. If they should ever happen not to like something I say, I suggest that they get up, go and get some air and come back, but do not interrupt me. I think that is completely disrespectful. If they are not polite, I am going to read the email we have just received from Mr. Fisher, in Alberta, in which he has some questions about the mental health of the Conservative members.
There are two ways to get reluctant witnesses to testify. I have made a motion, which you have all received, to ask that the Speaker of the House issue the necessary warrants to secure the attendance of the witnesses.
I would say that this approach is the stick, but there is another approach, which I would call the carrot. I want the stick to become a sword of Damocles over the heads of the witnesses, so they will be fully aware that that motion is still possible. I do not want to make it now, but I want to keep it on hold so it can be made today, or tomorrow, or another day.
First and foremost, I invite the people we have summoned to the committee to think about the consequences of their actions. The carrot I am proposing as an incentive for Conservative party workers to appear is the motion I want to make, which consists of asking the Speaker to take all necessary action to set an appearance date, between September 15 and 30, 2008, for all of the people whose names appear on the witness list approved by this committee who have not yet appeared. I am also asking that you, Mr. Chair, provide committee members with a weekly report on the action taken.
Among the people who have not responded to our invitation there are senior officers, Conservative party workers and a number of candidates and official agents. Obviously there are Conservative M.P.s and ministers, but you know that we have no way of compelling them to testify. I want to keep my motion on hold so that the Conservative party workers and senior officers will have to reconsider their decision not to appear this week.
Mr. Del Mastro, could you go out and get some air? Thank you.
This week, in light of the testimony we have heard, we saw that Conservative officials abused the trust of party workers and their media placement agency. The official agents, among others, were misled by their party, and that is a very serious offence. The Conservative Party is the party in power, the party that forms the government and makes the laws. It enforces the law and it has to obey the law itself. Well, it has failed to obey the Elections Act and failed to provide correct information to its workers, by encouraging them not to appear. We know that this is a contempt of Parliament, a violation of parliamentary privilege, but we will come back to that another time.
The Conservative party workers have got to respect the institutions and standing orders of the House, even though their officials seem to be quite lawless themselves and devoid of principles or ethics, and most importantly to believe they are above the law. We know and we are aware that the Conservative party workers, as is to be expected, are being loyal to their party. No one is asking them to be disloyal in any way. Myself, I want to appeal to their sense of duty and ask them to obey the law. Law and order are so dear to the hearts of the Conservatives, so let them come and prove it to the committee.
From September 15 to 30, that is less than a month from now. Using the motion they all have in hand, I want to tell the Conservative party workers to take the time to think about it and get information. No one is accusing you of anything. No one wants to accuse you of anything; we simply want information. Consult a lawyer—not the Conservatives' lawyer, someone who is non-partisan, someone you know and trust. With that person, read the Elections Act, read the Standing Orders of the House. It is clear that at present, the people in the Conservative Party are afraid of the consequences of what they have done and they may be giving bad advice.
As well, take the time to get organized. That is in one month, between September 15 and 30. People will be able to change things in their lives. They may be able to make reservations on the train, or a plane, or whatever. They will be able to request leave from work. They have over a month to make arrangements to come to Ottawa.
I also want the Conservative party workers to think about the effects of their actions and the actual consequences. A motion could be made in the House to compel reluctant witnesses to appear at this committee by force. The Conservative officials who are giving them advice are not the ones who might ultimately find themselves in handcuffs in front of the TV cameras. It's easy for them to advise witnesses not to appear.
I would like the Conservative party workers and organizers to demonstrate that sense of duty that is so dear to their hearts, and do their duty as citizens and appear before the committee. This motion is to give them a month to think about it and make arrangements with you, Mr. Chair.