Mr. Chair, I'm not really 100% confident regarding the process. I know I share many of the concerns that members of the community would have regarding who should or should not be able to appear before committee.
I have trust and faith that when the committee asks me to provide names of individuals, I have a sense of the people and a reason or rationale for choosing that individual or organization before coming to committee. That said, if individuals express concerns after I submit names, I would welcome their input and ultimately determine whether I would like to keep them witnesses that I have personally called to come before the committee.
If the Conservative Party is confident that this individual has something to contribute to the committee, I don't have a problem listening. I'm not going to try to censor who the government calls before the committee, as I hope they wouldn't censor me and the individuals I'm suggesting come before us, whether today or in the future. The concern I have is that the government, now having been made aware of some very serious concerns, be confident about having this person or group appear before the committee.
I put that as a flag that's at least worthy of notice. We might even take a couple minutes' recess so they can reflect on whether they deem it appropriate.