I can understand why the government wouldn't want to talk about the economy. We can add it to the list of the many things they don't want to talk about and they want to ban other people from talking about.
The question I ask on the WE scandal is, what is it that they have to hide? First, the Prime Minister shut down Parliament so this committee could no longer meet. Then, when it came back, he filibustered three committees: the procedure committee, the ethics committee, and the finance committee, which we're experiencing right now.
Then we said, “You know what? Just give those WE documents over to the law clerk in confidence. Let him look at them.” “No. Hell, no. We can't let him see those.” Then I said, “Well, you're violating our privileges as a committee. Why don't we let the Speaker rule on that?” “Oh, no, no. We can't let the Speaker rule on that either.”
They're terrified to let the Speaker render a judgment on the subject. He's actually a Liberal, and they don't trust him to rule on this. They seem to be afraid that he might have a conscience and rule according to the facts and the Standing Orders rather than partisan ideology, so they're trying to prevent the Speaker from even ruling on my point of privilege.
If my point of privilege has no merit, they'd just pass my motion right now; it would go off to the House, and the Speaker would take one look at it and throw it out the window. However, of course, the government knows it is very meritorious. It is a rock-solid case for the breach of privilege in which the government has engaged. That is exactly why they don't want the Speaker to have the opportunity to rule on it. They're afraid of the Speaker; they are afraid of the law clerk; they are afraid of whatever is hidden away in those documents under all that black ink. They are afraid of all those things. That's exactly why they are here today speaking for hours and hours, and in the process sacrificing our ability to carry out pre-budget consultations. Therefore, I would encourage the government to put an end to this ridiculous filibuster.
By the way, the antics aren't working. We saw in the by-elections, with cratered Liberal support in two long-time Liberal strongholds, that Canadians are not impressed. Liberal support collapsed in Toronto Centre, of all places, the most Liberal riding in the whole country. They went from winning by 17 points to five points in York Centre, another long-time Liberal stronghold. I think Canadians have been watching over the last month or so. They saw the Prime Minister try to cover up the WE scandal with the prorogation and the threats of an election and the endless procedural games, such as the one we're witnessing right now, and they said no.
I think the Prime Minister, who was so desperate to get to an election a week ago, might be thinking twice now. He might be saying, “Maybe I'm not in such a great position to call that election.” He desperately needs the election to happen before more of the truth comes out in the WE scandal. He's trying to delay the facts until after the election so that voters can't judge him on his real conduct. The truth will come out, and increasingly, I think you will find that Canadians are appalled by his conduct and the conduct that his MPs are engaging in on his behalf.
I would encourage members to do the job we were sent to do here. Stop covering up the corruption. If you have nothing to hide, don't hide it.
Thank you.