Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The fact of the matter is the minister's remarks that he was reading from were clearly in his capacity as a minister and were designed in terms of the message—it seems to me to be what my motion was all about—as a way to block, delay, obstruct, and try to manipulate the message in such a way as to why parliamentary committees should not be able to hear from Mr. Togneri, Ms. Andrews, and Mr. Soudas.
If we want to invite the minister to come before the committee, then we will do so, and we'll expect him to be here. When we invite other people to come before the committee, as is our right, we expect them to be here and not to be shut out from coming by an edict from the Prime Minister's Office.
I agree with the Bloc decision. The minister can sit here as a member of Parliament. He can question witnesses. He can get into the debate. But as for the statement he tried to make before this committee, he is not Mr. Togneri. In my view, he can't give us the facts in terms of what Mr. Togneri has done. He may be able to answer some questions when we invite him to be here.