Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I don't have an opening statement because it wasn't clear to me what specifically it was that I was being asked to address today. In the circumstances, I feared I would waste the committee's time going on a tangent that wasn't of interest to the committee.
Your question particularly relates to the status or the meaning of “prima facie” as a ruling by the Speaker. Well, prima facie is one of those nice Latin expressions that can be used for a variety of purposes. I suppose for a close translation, or a rough translation, in English we might say “at first blush”, on a reading through, do you see anything here that could, upon further examination, perhaps constitute a breach of privilege?
Don't forget, part of what's going on here with this practice is for the Speaker to rule out those points of privilege that may at first blush simply give no indication of any merit. So rather than take up the time of this committee or the House, he would not find prima facie.
But prima facie is not to be taken as conclusive of the question. It's simply saying “at first blush, it would appear”. This committee's job now is to examine the question in greater depth and to make a report to the House on whether, in its view, there is or is not a breach of privilege here.