Order, please. Thank you.
Is there anything further that would assist the chair in making this decision on this point of order? I'm going to take a second here before I make any further comments.
Colleagues, I'm sorry. Thank you very much for your patience. I've had a discussion with our analysts and our clerk.
Just allow me to make some comments. Mr. Reid and other members have raised my level of awareness, and I have to admit that I'm concerned about this matter. It is a serious situation. Mr. Reid has raised a number of references. Mr. Martin raised some potentially helpful precedents in the past.
I'm going to reserve my judgment on Mr. Reid's point of order until 3:30 tomorrow, which, my analysts and clerk advise me, should be enough time to pull all of that, have a look at it, and have a discussion.
As well, I will inform the committee--I'm told I should ask the committee this--that I would like to ask for an independent legal opinion, and I would suggest Mr. Walsh, who is the law clerk for Parliament. If anybody has a significant objection to that.... I'm simply asking the members to understand the volume of the decision that I have to make. I would like to make sure I make the correct decision.
I'm going to reserve my judgment until tomorrow at 3:30. With the committee's permission, I would like to invite Mr. Walsh to review the minutes and give me his opinion, as well as do my own research. That's my decision.
Now, we still have some time left. If the committee would like to move forward on the first issue, we can get our witnesses together.
Mr. Guimond.