Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As I was saying, this is quite an unusual situation because the reason we're meeting today is to hear from a witness who isn't here.
Secondly, the government House leader says he has things to tell us in connection with our study of the WE Charity scandal. I'd like to hear from him. I think my fellow committee members would too. We'll hear what Mr. Rodriguez has to say, which is fine.
However, there was an order, Mr. Chair. We're not talking about the committee inviting witnesses to appear. On Thursday, there was a debate in the House that lasted almost all day. It was about Mr. Barrett's motion to call certain witnesses. The motion was debated, amended and adopted on Thursday, March 25. The motion ordered Rick Theis to appear before this committee today at 2 p.m. He's not here.
The motion also stated that the Prime Minister could appear instead of Rick Theis, if he wanted. I gather the Prime Minister isn't here, unless he's hiding somewhere.
So, Mr. Chair, before we decide whether to hear from Mr. Rodriguez or anyone else, I'd like to move a motion. I move that the committee note the absence of the witness who was ordered by the House of Commons—