Firstly, I would like to thank my colleague for handing me her motion ahead of time. It took me a while, but I managed to find a section in Marleau-Montpetit that deals with summoning witnesses. I will disregard the paragraph on senators, that is another procedure. Mr. Marleau was a great man who heavily influenced work and procedure in the Chamber. With respect to MPs and senators, he writes:
Committees are not empowered to summon Members of the House of Common or Senators. Should a Member refuse to testify when requested to do so by a committee, the committee can report to the House which will then decide what action, if any, is necessary.
I am afraid that this will lead to delaying tactics and other similar things. By summoning MPs and former ministers and senators who were previously ministers, I believe that we risk creating a dangerous precedent. Indeed, if we call the former Minister of Defence and he declines our invitation, we may have to ask the House of Commons to intervene and do what is necessary. I, for one, would prefer avoiding this scenario.
There is also the problem of Afghanistan. I believe we will have to invite the minister when we consider appropriations for the department. We are not strictly limiting ourselves to the issue of Afghanistan. I understand my colleague's intention, but I would like us adopt a broader perspective. From the outset, I have a few reservations on this proposal. My colleague will have to provide me with additional explanations on this subject. For now, I am not convinced.