Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Mr. Robert, for being here today.
When I first was put on this committee, I thought procedure might be quite boring. I wondered what parliamentary procedure was going to be like, but, being a lawyer as well, I had quickly learned that if you don't know the rules of the game, no matter how good a case you have, no matter how well-intentioned your client was or is, it doesn't really matter. Without a knowledge of legal procedure, you cannot effectively defend or represent your client. Similarly, I've learned since being a parliamentarian that no matter how good your intentions may be, if you don't know how Parliament functions and you don't know the procedural rules, you cannot be an effective representative of the people.
After looking over your CV and hearing your introductory remarks, I can see that you are a man who understands procedure very well and has a lot of experience with the rules.
I'd like to get to know a little bit more about your intentions and your vision for Parliament. There has been a lot of discussion at this committee and elsewhere about changing the tone of Parliament, about making it more inclusive so that we better reflect and represent the population of Canada. I would like to know your thoughts on how you can bring your experience from the Senate to the House of Commons.
I know you have been in the Senate during a unique transformational time. With what you've learned and how you've adapted to the new way the Senate works with all the independent senators, how would you apply this experience to the House in order to encourage that co-operative environment?