Mr. Chair, could I say one thing? We're dealing with a fundamental sea change to the way our parliamentary institutions function and the rights of certain parliamentarians, both in the House and in committee.
The opinion of our clerk, with all due respect to his expertise, may very well be the changing fact as to whether or not we can actually vote on this. I don't think it's particularly right for us to be putting this decision on the shoulders of our clerk.
The fundamental question that I have is on whose role it is to deliberate on such an issue. Is it the committee or the Speaker? I think we need clarity on those two roles, on the relationship between the committee and the Speaker when we're dealing with the rights of parliamentarians. Therefore, I'm hesitant to put the burden of this opinion on our clerk.