Thank you, Chair.
I will fight on behalf of Canadians any day of the week, you can count on that, but I agree that the motion that is in front of us now concerns the appearance of Mr. Rodriguez in front of this committee in good faith. He is on the amended notice of meeting. He is in front of this committee, and he is expecting to speak to this committee. By that same usual practice of this committee and of other committees in the House, we are flexible when it comes to witnesses, and we certainly want to hear from the witnesses who can be of most use to the study that we have at hand.
In fact, when we talk about responsible government, we know that many on both sides of the House have spoken on the principle of Canada's form of responsible government, and that is that ministerial staff have no authority to make decisions on behalf of ministers. I believe Mr. Poilievre had something to say on this matter, as did former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. They have no authority to make decisions on behalf of ministers; they report to and are accountable to ministers. Ministers are accountable for their actions to Parliament. This is not a new concept. This is from former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as stated in the document, “Accountable Government: A Guide for Ministers”.
This is the principle, and we've spoken about this before, Chair. This is a committee that, from its earliest days, has evolved and has learned how to work around and with these very difficult issues that we have before us. In so doing, I agree that this was an important principle when it was brought forward by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and it is a key principle today. In fact, it is a fundamental principle that we should be responsible for.
I take exception to the first remark made by Mr. Poilievre saying in some way that Mr. Rodriguez's appearance here today was just that he happened to be passing by, so he's here, but this has nothing to do with the matter before us. It has everything to do with the matter before us. I, for one, am looking forward to hearing Mr. Rodriguez speak and being able to ask questions of him. That is what I have to say on this motion.
As far as the motion itself goes, I would like to have it reread, but I am against the motion insofar as it casts aspersions upon the appearance of Mr. Rodriguez here today. It is done in good faith and in full adherence to the principle of ministerial accountability and, indeed, respects the wishes of the House. I would like to have it read out again.
Thank you.