Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
The amendment is based on hundreds of years of parliamentary tradition, and I cite as my source for the argument the House of Commons Procedure and Practice, the second edition, 2009, edited by Audrey O'Brien and Marc Bosc. The name Audrey O'Brien is very well-known and held in extremely high regard around the parliamentary precinct. She continues to be a servant of Parliament to this day, and, I might add, with the unanimous confidence of parliamentarians.
From page 32, chapter 1, entitled “Parliamentary Institutions”, and subtitled “Responsible Government and Ministerial Responsibility”, I quote:
In a general sense, responsible government means that a government must be responsive to its citizens, that it must operate responsibly (that is, be well organized in developing and implementing policy) and that its Ministers must be accountable or responsible to Parliament.
And it goes on:
In terms of ministerial responsibility, Ministers have both individual and collective responsibilities to Parliament.