But it has not been described carefully.
All my colleagues will recall that the regular meeting of this committee on Monday afternoon was cancelled because of the budget, and that our chair asked us to come instead on Tuesday afternoon, either at 5:30 or after the vote, which we all did. Unfortunately for the Liberal members, there was a reception and group photo planned at the same time. We decided to forget the reception, which was to honour our retiring colleagues, and instead we asked permission of the chair to absent ourselves for 10 minutes in order to participate in the group photo. The chair graciously agreed, and when we got the signal from our whip--we were trying to keep our break as short as possible--he graciously called a break and we left.
We left our papers and we left our cards in front of our chairs on the table. We came back and carried on with the business of the committee. It has been reported to us today, by a representative of our whip's office, that someone came and stood behind the Conservative bench and took a picture of our empty seats with our name tags still in front. Everyone who needs to be elected, such as all the experienced politicians at this table, understands the implications of that.
I would also remind my colleagues that the meeting was in camera, and therefore, to that end, I have registered a letter with the Speaker of the House with the complaint that our privileges as parliamentarians have been transgressed and asked him to investigate.
But seeing as I would prefer to keep the collegial atmosphere that we have achieved, both in the past and in the current membership, I am also asking that the chair and the clerk investigate this scenario and that perhaps this staff person could be brought back about 10 minutes before the usual closing of this meeting. I understand the staff person who was seen with the camera is working for one of the members who sits on this committee, and I'm sure her time can be easily directed by that member, to come and accommodate his colleagues on the committee.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.