Thank you for that reminder, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to make sure everyone understood.
Having said that, I understand you, Mr. Chair. We need to bring new arguments to this debate. It's part of our parliamentary tradition, and I intend to respect that. I will continue to offer you a fresh perspective on this issue.
Mr. Chair, apart from the matter of the fundamental principles of our parliamentary system, a funny thing happened. Actually, it wasn't funny, it was interesting. There is a grain of truth in every joke.
Ms. May, the leader of the Green Party, attended our meeting on Monday, March 29. Her party does not have a representative on the committee, as it is not recognized in the House of Commons. So she had the floor at the very end of the meeting and said something that contradicts my view. I think she said that, of the people asking the Minister questions, she was probably the only one who voted in favour of the motion put forward by the official opposition on March 25 [technical difficulties] with the provisions. Even so, she could not understand why a two-hour session was held to debate this issue, which could have been resolved with a simple letter.
Everyone agreed that there was something new in the case of Ben Chin, even though this issue had been addressed by the Standing Committee on Finance in August 2020. Ben Chin had received a message on LinkedIn, which reads something like:
He just said, you know, it's a pleasure to see you. I'm glad we're working together on youth.
I am not able to provide an exact quote. Perhaps someone else could do that.
Mr. Chair, you are not giving me the opportunity to look at my documents to read the quote properly, and I have to say that I feel a little intimidated. So I'm giving you a rough quote and I hope the clerk or my colleagues will correct me.
Ms. May said that it didn't make sense to have a meeting just to ask a few questions. She asked if there had been any further communication with WE Charity or the Kielburger brothers.
The minister, who appeared as the government representative, stated that there had been no further communication.
She said she was satisfied with that answer.
However, I chuckled at the time, but we all know that sometimes the truth can be told in a few words. I know that I am taking a lot of time today to speak. Ms. May is an extraordinary woman whom I greatly admire. I would like to have her intelligence some day. We don't always see eye to eye on a number of issues, but she has a strong character, as do all my colleagues here.