Thank you, Madam Chair.
Similar to Mr. Maloney, I am perplexed by the reluctance of Mr. Viersen to come and defend his own piece of legislation. Honestly, from my perspective, that's not much of a vote of confidence, if the sponsor of the bill is unwilling to come before a committee.
Similar to Mr. Maloney, I've been here for nine years. Only once have I had the opportunity to appear before a committee to defend a private member's bill. That was just recently, with the national strategy on brain injuries act. I appeared before the Standing Committee on Health. Without a doubt, it was one of the highlights of my career over the last nine years. You get to sit in the hot seat. You get to defend your bill and take questions from members. I don't know why anyone would willingly give that up.
We cannot compel Mr. Viersen to appear. As he is a member of Parliament, we cannot do that. We can certainly formally send the invite.
Again, I just remain completely perplexed as to why the sponsor of a piece of legislation would not take this very rare opportunity.
I'll leave it at that, Madam Chair.