Okay.
Thank you very much, Ms. Kwan and Mr. Vaughan.
Because Ms. Kwan had given advance notice of her intention to raise a question of privilege, I have been provided with some background materials on which to rule on the question.
Specifically, House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, at page 154, sets out the procedure for a chair to consider a question of privilege in committee, and it reads:
Should a Member wish to raise a question of privilege in committee, or should some event occur in committee which appears to be a breach of privilege or contempt, the Chair of the committee will recognize the Member and hear the question of privilege, or, in the case of some incident, suggest that the committee deal with the matter. The Chair, however, has no authority to rule that a breach of privilege or contempt has occurred. The role of the Chair in such instances is to determine whether the matter raised does in fact touch on privilege and is not a point of order, a grievance or a matter of debate. If the Chair is of the opinion that the Member's interjection deals with a point of order, a grievance or a matter of debate, or that the incident is within the powers of the committee to deal with, the Chair will rule accordingly, giving reasons.
Ms. Kwan, I want to thank you for bringing this matter to the committee and to my attention. As members know, House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, is clear on questions of privilege brought before committee. As I indicated, on page 154 it states:
Unlike the Speaker, the Chair of a committee does not have the power to censure disorder or decide questions of privilege.
It elaborates on the chair's role as follows:
...the Chair in such instances is to determine whether the matter raised does in fact touch on privilege and is not a point of order, a grievance or a matter of debate.
As was evident from the exchange, it is my view that this matter does not touch on parliamentary privilege, and it could very well be either a point of order, a grievance or, most likely, a matter of debate.
Given that, I would suggest that it is entirely within Ms. Kwan's purview to reach out to the witnesses directly to present her side of the debate, and I would like to thank the honourable member for allowing me to clarify this matter.