Thanks.
Hopefully we can get to a resolution here quickly, and I mean that sincerely. I'm not here to filibuster. Those of you who know me....
Mr. Paquette, please hear me out.
Those of you who know me--as Mr. Proulx does, and others who have served with me on the procedure and House affairs committee--know that if I'm going to filibuster I announce it. I let members know. I have always done that. I am not intending to do that.
Yesterday, I was angry, and I'm still angry, at the motion as it was presented and at the content of the motion itself. However, having said that, I can assure you that from the government's perspective, we are committed to having a report tabled in the House on Monday, March 21, as was the motion that was approved. So I want to get something done today so a report can be tabled.
I would ask my colleagues from both the Bloc and the NDP to make comment on whether or not the motion as presented yesterday should be amended. Now, unfortunately two of the members who were sitting at committee yesterday are not here today. Madame DeBellefeuille had said yesterday that the Bloc might be open to amending or even deleting that last portion that says “no summary of evidence” to be attached. Monsieur Godin indicated the same willingness--at least, that's my interpretation.
I agree with my colleague, Mr. Albrecht, that arbitrarily limiting the report to two pages seems to be undemocratic, to say the very least, because based on testimony heard, in all probability it will go more than two pages.
Having said all that, I am obviously still aware that if the united opposition wants to have a finding that is contained in the main body of the motion--that is, stating that the government is in contempt--they can certainly do so. There is very little we can do to prevent that from happening, and I'm not going to filibuster to try to stop this motion from coming forward, as I said earlier. But I would like to hear from my colleagues in the Bloc Québécois, at least on those two points. Can we at least agree to have a report that includes a summary of evidence, and to also include a report that is not restricted to two pages or less?
With that, I certainly hope I can hear some commentary from my colleagues across.