Thank you, Chair.
I'm sorry that this is necessary. I usually say that it's a great pleasure to address the committee, especially on a subamendment as important as my colleague Mr. Mazier's. Unfortunately, this shouldn't be necessary.
While I'm speaking, I'll begin by extending my apologies to the witnesses who are waiting to deliver their important testimony. I want to inform those witnesses out of courtesy that this should not be necessary at all. This past summer, this committee—before you joined, Chair—had a meeting of the vice-chairs to decide what would be studied when. I understand that I'm not a vice-chair, but I understand that it was a perfectly collegial group decision that was made to do our study on immigration policy, the Bloc study on antimicrobial resistance and then the present Liberal study on pharmaceutical sovereignty.
We worked really well on behalf of Canadians as a team. One thing that we did not do was spring a debate and a motion on a study that we wanted while there were witnesses waiting to testify. This part is really disappointing. I feel terrible that I'm taking up those witnesses' time, but it's because of this very aggressive manoeuvre that the Liberals are undertaking presently.
That raises the question of why. Why would they do this very aggressive manoeuvre instead of having a vice-chairs' meeting collegially, as they have shown themselves capable of doing in the past? I think it's clear that this is because they do not want to have the meeting that Mr. Mazier has introduced in his subamendment to have the Minister of Health and Mr. Green come to speak to this committee about PrescribeIT. Both testimonies are very important.
I would draw the committee's attention to The Globe and Mail. For the last two weeks, it has run multiple stories, not just on PrescribeIT and the debacle that it is but on this committee's work pertaining to PrescribeIT. The committee has done important work on this boondoggle that, for one thing, has changed the direction of Canada Health Infoway.
I frankly do not believe the board chair's testimony that this committee questioned Mr. Green and he coincidentally happened to be fired a week later. Part of why I don't believe it is that the Minister of Health said in question period today that she found his behaviour totally unacceptable. Obviously, Canadians, journalists and the national paper of record, The Globe and Mail, are interested in hearing testimony from both of these individuals.
Addressing myself through you, Chair, to the witnesses who are waiting, I'm sorry this is what it has come to. The Liberals invited you here to give your testimony on their own study, and now they're obstructing the testimony of their own witnesses on their own study in order to protect the Minister of Health from having to answer further questions about precisely what transpired with respect to Mr. Green and the board of Canada Health Infoway.
In one of those Globe and Mail—