Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I will speak to the motion, and I will let the member know that we'll be voting in favour of it. We do think that's getting to the point, and for two reasons. Number one, it does deal with the issue of the witnesses who do need to be heard in this situation. Number two, we will reject any motion that has the proviso that this committee will meet in camera. That will be the clear line for the Conservative side of this committee, for the reason that it is imperative we have light shone on this and that we ensure that Canadians get to see what's going on, specifically as the witnesses come forward.
Mr. Chair, you said yourself that if there was a problem, the attorney general would resign. You said that many times in the media. And indeed she has resigned. Therefore, there is a situation here that does need to be studied. That's why including her on the list of witnesses, as Mr. Cullen has done, makes sense and is actually imperative to our success in getting to the bottom of what happened.
Second, Mr. Speaker...or Mr. Chair—sorry—I'm intrigued by what seems to be a difference of opinion on the purpose of the meeting. I understand that the Liberal side will be voting in favour of their motion as unamended, as Mr. Fraser has said. I'll wait to hear what they have to say about the amendment that has been proposed by Mr. Cullen now. But from the way in which it's been characterized on the Liberal side, they have indicated that Canadians want clarification on the relationship between the Attorney General and the cabinet, whereas our point of view, and the point of view of most of the editorials in the Canadian newspaper world, is that we want to get to the bottom of political interference in the attorney general's office.
I'll quote from a decision that my colleague Mr. Cooper brought along from Alberta. The part of this decision that caught my attention is the following:
The quasi-judicial function of the Attorney General cannot be subjected to interference from parties who are not as competent to consider the various factors involved in making a decision to prosecute. To subject such decisions to political interference, or to judicial supervision, could erode the integrity of our system of prosecution.
I think that's exactly why we want to hear from the witnesses, Mr. Chair. We want to determine what were the conversations that happened with the attorney general and whether or not, according to the Supreme Court of Canada, this was something of concern.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, my colleague—