Thank you, Mr. Chair.
In my opinion, the issue is ministerial accountability. It's also important to point out that asking ministers questions is an opportunity for members of the opposition and the party in power to move issues forward and make sure the government is aware of things. Most importantly, public answers to these questions give us a clear idea of the ministers' intentions. They let us see if the private and public meetings we've held with them over the past few months have moved things forward. That's why it's important to get clear answers to our questions. That's not what happened at the last meeting, though.
I also get the impression that the Liberals are filibustering a bit today, even as they criticize us for not allowing the study of Bill C‑61 to move forward. That's kind of ironic, because if we had simply settled this issue an hour ago, we would already be studying Bill C‑61, and we wouldn't have wasted another meeting.
It's also worth noting that the government cannot be certain it will still be in power after the study of Bill C‑61.
That said, the questions I asked at the last meeting call for public answers that will tell us clearly whether the government has a formally stated intention to move forward on issues that are important to first nations. We want to know if we can trust the process or if we need to keep putting pressure on the government.
For these reasons, I will not be supporting the subamendment, but I will be supporting the motion to have the ministers appear over the next two weeks.