Thank you, Madam Chair.
I certainly would never imply motive. I said it pretty much straight up and I meant it. I have watched some of these members over here day after day on a crusade against CBC.
The issue of accountability is important for our committee. This is fundamental to our work. The fact of access to information is fundamental to our work. When I see people sitting around making jokes about resembling the remarks about dismantling the CBC, and then expecting to use this committee as a forum for them to examine documents, unredacted documents, so that they can then decide...or--and I think this would be more interesting--put themselves in a position where CBC would probably say, “We're not going to make that request because of the issues of journalistic integrity and because of the issues of the exclusion”, which would then allow the Conservatives to do what they would really like, which is to come in and call CBC in contempt of Parliament.
I think this is part of a definitive strategy to undermine the CBC. We've seen it again and again and again. We have enough evidence here for Mr. Del Mastro's kangaroo court to continue. He was unable to bring a judge before this committee; he thought he had the right to bring a judge before this committee, and yet we had to see the Ottawa Citizen have a big headline to remind Mr. Del Mastro that he was completely usurping the rules, the distinction between state, court, and parliamentary committee.
So now we see that Mr. Del Mastro gets to be the decider of what documents should be released and what shouldn't be released. This is a kangaroo court. The rest of us are dragged along for the ride because this government's idea of a majority is to break whatever rules it wants. But I think it is extremely inappropriate. It's showing the level of farce that this government is willing to descend to in its attack on the CBC.
I would respectfully say that we could have a situation where we review the testimony. We know what the conclusions of this government, as we know it, are going to be. But given the fact that the members have sat there and made jokes and continual attacks on the public broadcaster, for them to be given the documents to examine, to make political hay with, is completely out of line.