Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll read the motion. It says:
In light of testimony provided at the March 5th meeting of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, and taking into account the demonstrated impact of the proposed sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) on more than one government ministry; the Committee request that a representative of MDA, the Minister of Justice/Solicitor General, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of National Defence appear before the Committee to provide testimony in regards to the proposed sale of MDA to Alliant Techsystems, before a decision concerning the sale is rendered under the Investment Canada Act.
My rationale for proposing this motion is that, first of all, as you know, the clerk did contact MDA to have someone appear. It was a late request and they were not able to appear before the committee. But it seems only fair that they would have the opportunity to do so.
Secondly, we have heard from the testimony on March 5 that the potential sale could impact other ministries in the federal government, and especially, it was outlined under the former Bill C-25 how this could impact Foreign Affairs; Defence as it pertains to national security and Arctic sovereignty; and the Solicitor General, under law enforcement. So I think it would be important to hear from these ministers as to how they view a potential sale and what would be the impact for Canadians on their responsibilities as ministers.