I am very surprised, Mr. Chair, but we have always had a respect for parliamentary institutions here, and sometimes we agree or disagree on things, but there's certain pretty fundamental issues that we've never questioned. One is the minister's availability.
I have never, in the 10 years that I have been here, seen even a minority Parliament committee, where most of the members are not from the ministerial side, insist that they are not going to give the normal courtesy of the one-hour appearance. It just never happens. When a minister appears before a committee, there has always been on all sides—and even at the time when the Bloc was an official party here—I'd say among all the recognized parties, there has always been—