I would like to suggest that the minister has every other hour of the week to do her media briefings other than when the officials are booked to be here at this meeting from 4:30 to 5:30. This is in virtual contempt of Parliament that there's been this obstruction put to our being able to do our job as we go to the parliamentary break.
This is an unacceptable precedent. As we move into winter, there has to be provision for a proper briefing, even if it's done by telephone.
I mean, why couldn't they do it by telephone at 4:30 today when we're all sitting here, as opposed to tomorrow at 11:30, probably the last day that Parliament sits, when all of our schedules are chockablock with meetings with people who have to meet with us at that time?
I need to register a complaint. I want it fixed by the time we come back.
It is not lost on us that so often the minister's weekly briefing ends up at a time that's completely inconvenient for parliamentarians or others. We are sitting in this committee at a time when we would normally be listening to the minister's press conference.