Thank you, Chair.
I don't know if there is anyone else who would like to speak to this, but I am glad to have the opportunity to speak further to Mr. Turnbull's amendment to the original motion. Indeed, I think it goes to the heart of our parliamentary process. I find it's really a privilege for me to be able to contribute to that debate.
I'm going to continue my comments in French.
As for Mr. Turnbull's amendment, to delete point (a) of the motion, on inviting the to the Prime Minister to appear, I fully agree with it.
As we know, there is a well-established tradition according to which the prime minister can rely on his entire team of ministers to represent him. My understanding is that the government House leader, Pablo Rodriguez, came to explain why there was prorogation in August, and it was perfectly appropriate for him to do so. That's the transparency principle, and I believe that's what our colleagues here are asking for. They want to understand the reasons for the prorogation.
However, Madam Chair, I believe that we were here together once before when my Liberal colleagues gave reasons for the prorogation. When Mr. Rodriguez came, it was not simply to answer a few questions; a report had already been tabled in the House on the reasons for the prorogation.
The first reason for the prorogation was the pandemic. It's the most significant event in this century. If our opposition colleagues do not want to accept the fact that proroguing Parliament was essential to give the government the opportunity to completely alter its approach and its priorities, then I can't really think of a better reason for prorogation to suggest to the committee, other perhaps than a war.
I understand those who would like the Prime Minister to appear before this committee and request that he do so. However, he gave evidence before the Standing Committee on Finance last year. I think that all the committees would like to have the Prime Minister appear because it's good publicity for them. However, it runs counter to our parliamentary system, which makes only one person responsible for the government's decisions. The entire cabinet is responsible. The Prime Minister is the leader of the cabinet.
When Mr. Rodriguez appeared before this committee, he said that it was obvious that the environment last summer was completely different from the context in which we found ourselves in 2019 following the elections.
As the Prime Minister himself said publicly, and completely transparently, when announcing the prorogation in August, it was a decisive moment for Canada. Not only would we have to deal with the crisis, but also plan for the position we would be in after the crisis. Putting ideas forward is one thing, but it's also important to have a plan for providing guidance to Canadians in the future.
I think there are others who would like to speak, and I will stop now to give them an opportunity to do so.