I'd just like to respond to Ms. Simson.
I was here in the last Parliament, and you know what, the suggestions you make are fairly common sense suggestions. You'd think that this committee in the last Parliament would have consulted the law clerk as to whether or not this study was within its order or within its mandate, but the reality is that it never happened.
The chair's ruling came after lengthy debate. More than several meetings occurred prior to the chair's ruling on whether or not this particular study was in order. His ruling was then challenged. It was upheld only because of the brute force of the opposition parties pushing it over the top.
So to suggest that this is a common sense approach doesn't really summarize the degree to which this question needs to be debated. The very first question I would ask Mr. Walsh, the law clerk, would be exactly the question you raised. Based on subparagraphs 108(3)(h)(v) and (vi), does the ethics committee, as its mandate, have the responsibility or the authority to investigate individuals who are not public office-holders without specific authorization from the House?
Clarity is needed here. We're not asking irrelevant questions. These go to the heart of our mandate. I think we can very quickly get the answers. It's unfortunate that we didn't have this opportunity before we commenced on weeks and weeks and, as Mr. Chair states, thousands of pages of testimony, but the reality is that it never happened.
My hope is that we start off on the right foot this time, that we just get some clarification from the law clerk very quickly and reasonably, giving us the answers to our questions about whether or not this has been our mandate. If it is, so be it, and let's commence this study, but prudence, reasonableness, and accountability to the Canadian people would suggest that we answer those questions first and not make the presumption that it's within our mandate.