Thank you so much, Professor Miller, for your presentation.
I would like to come at it from the angle of the Speaker. Should a majority of the House decide or should there be a unanimous decision of the House on some aspect of the issue of prorogation and a wish to have its point of view brought to the attention of the Governor General, it has been suggested to us that the way in which this can happen is through the Speaker, and that the Speaker would have access to the Governor General virtually at any point.
If I can just read for you something that was brought to our attention, it's called “Access to the Governor General: A Little-Known Parliamentary Privilege”, and it states:
At the opening of the First Session of a new Parliament, the newly elected Speaker of the House of Commons presents himself or herself to the Governor General in the Senate Chamber before the latter delivers the Speech from the Throne. The Speaker addresses the Governor General by an established formula, which is as follows:
May it please Your Excellency, The House of Commons has elected me their Speaker, though I am but little able to fulfil the important duties thus assigned to me. If, in the performance of those duties, I should at any time fall into error, I pray that the fault may be imputed to me, and not to the Commons, whose servant I am, and who, through me, the better to enable them to discharge their duty to their Queen and Country, humbly claim all their undoubted rights and privileges, especially that they may have freedom of speech in their debates, access to Your Excellency’s person at all seasonable times--
That phrase was underlined by the witness who brought this to our attention.
--and that their proceedings may receive from Your Excellency the most favourable construction.
So basically what that witness was bringing to our attention--and other witnesses more or less agreed--was that the House of Commons can express its will, not just on prorogation, but on other issues that may be convention, that may be actual law, and bring the House's opinion or view to the attention of the Governor General, if it might be of interest in terms of her or him exercising their exclusive authority or reserve authority. That could be done through the Speaker.
I'm not sure if that's something you have considered, but if it is, I'd be very interested in hearing what you have to say about it.