Yes; I think the country would be better off, though, if you could reach a unanimous decision.
I read the debate very carefully on the Layton motion on March 17. I read the government comments on it. I read them very carefully. I didn't see anything put forward by the government on what they thought the rule should be, other than possibly—they never stated it as crudely, or rudely, maybe, as I did, or as straightforwardly as I did—to have any requests for prorogation, of any length of time, no time limit at all, it doesn't matter. If, unlike Mr. Harper's request, a Prime Minister said, “Shut down the House; just shut it down, and I'll let you know, Madam, when it can come back”, I haven't heard from the government--Canada hasn't heard, your committee hasn't heard, as far as I know the House of Commons hasn't heard--on what is the government's position on the rule that should govern requests of the Prime Minister.
Until you have a good discussion of that, I don't think we're going to get very far, other than perhaps laying the groundwork for another crisis--a standing order change, opposed by the government; a new standing order, violated by the Prime Minister; and then we're into a crisis.
You may say, “Well, the Prime Minister is just wrong, and we'll defeat him and we'll fight an election on it.” Okay--but I don't think that's the way most Canadians want parliamentary government to be conducted in Canada, to have elections fought over vital rules, be they on the access of a committee to security documents or on the rules governing prorogation.
You have a responsibility, you members of Parliament, to try to work it out here. Can you imagine an election over these matters? You know what an election is all about—TV advertising, spin doctors. Do you think that's a good way of resolving fundamental rules of how you operate parliamentary democracy? I do not.
I'm sorry to go on here, but I'm trying to put all your feet to the fire. You've got a job to do--not to just go back to the Canadian people with parliamentary democracy in Canada in disarray because there's not an agreement on fundamental rules because you haven't even worked at it.