Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Welcome back to all my colleagues around the table after the two-week parliamentary break. It's a pleasure to be back at the ethics committee.
Far be it from me to try to get in the way of some of the theatrical outrage we're seeing on the other side at the moment. Where I wanted to come from was just to remind the table, and come back to the fact that, when we debated this motion, we did so in good faith. It's entirely reasonable, and Canadians understand, that from time to time there are businesses—businesses of state and international affairs—that come into play, particularly with ministers of cabinet.
It's important for the committee's record and for anyone watching that we also make sure it's known widely that the Minister of Finance in this case is actually going to be appearing for four hours tomorrow night at committee of the whole in the House of Commons. A four-hour appearance is very significant.
We know that between now and June 11, he is appearing at three other committees, including at the finance committee for a Conservative motion on June 4. I raise this only to say that the minister is making every effort to be as accountable, transparent and available as one would expect a minister of finance to be, while balancing, of course, the immense responsibilities that come with that role.
This is not intended to be an affront to anyone. This is not intended to thwart the good work of this committee. It is simply a recognition that from time to time, as the weeks and months pass, there are scheduling changes that we have to be able to deal with. Although we believed we had a date set out ahead of time, and all offices had worked very effectively to land on that date, there are important matters of business and of state arising that we need to adjust to.
I anticipate that all the members on this committee are going to be very active tomorrow in the committee of the whole with the finance minister. We look forward to having him at the committee here in a couple of weeks to finish out the motion on Alto.
From my perspective, certainly, I'm not averse to having both appear together.