Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This is a point of privilege. I'm pressing to have it dealt with because the rules require any point of privilege to be raised at the first possible opportunity.
Mr. Chair, this involves information from me and Mr. Lemay, so this point of privilege isn't just mine. It's at least his, and realistically it's the whole committee's.
We had both sought specific information from Mr. Don Head--he's head of Corrections Canada--in the period of time where he was before us on November 4. We both had very specific questions and data we required. At the end of that session with Mr. Head, he made it very clear--and I've got the blues here if somebody wants me to read it to him--that he undertook, those are the words that he used, to provide this committee with that information. He was to provide that, and he said he needed one to two weeks. That was sufficient time for us to receive it and use it in the clause-by-clause phase of Bill C-36. In fact, it was not received from him by the time we dealt with clause-by-clause a week ago today.
I'm led to believe both from the clerk of the committee and from my discussion with Mr. Lukiwski, the deputy House leader for the Conservative Party, that he gave it to the Minister of Public Safety and National Security. Mr. Lukiwski confirmed early this afternoon that in fact the minister had it, has had it since at least last week, last Monday, has not seen it, is reviewing it, and will provide it to us in a week's time.
Mr. Chair, I think you've been around here long enough, as have most of the people sitting here today, to know that this process is not the proper process. It's one that in fact offends the work we as a committee are supposed to perform. It offends our right to information from the public service in a timely fashion that we were led to believe was there.
I want this committee to make a report and I've actually prepared that report. It's a short one of only four paragraphs. It basically sets out the history. I didn't make reference to Mr. Lukiwski because I prepared it before I had the opportunity to speak to him or he had an opportunity to speak to me. But it sets out the facts that I've just recounted, that there has been direct interference by the minister in a situation where he should not have had any involvement at all. It has made it impossible for this committee to use that data that we had sought from Mr. Head and Corrections Canada in our discussion around BillC-36, both in committee at clause-by-clause and then today in the House when we were dealing with it at report stage and third reading stage.
So what I need is a report from this committee to be given to the House overnight, so it's there in the morning, so that I can then pursue my claim for privilege in front of the Speaker tomorrow morning when I am speaking to Bill C-36.
Mr. Chair, in that regard so we're clear on this, the Speaker cannot entertain my motion with regard to privilege without hearing from the committee. The rules are quite clear on that, that he can't reach into the committee, he can't see what happened at the committee. We have to advise him of that, and that's the purpose of my motion today, to have this information passed by way of a report to the committee overnight so that it will be in front of him tomorrow morning when I move my motion on privilege.
I think those are basically the facts, so I would like to proceed on that basis. As I say, I have the wording. I can read it all again if you wish me to. I have extra copies. I did not have time to translate it, but I have extra copies of the report as I would want it presented to the House tomorrow morning and voted on this evening by this committee.
Thank you.