I have a problem. Firstly, if my friend Russ carries on with his great comments, and continues to hold the same opinion, I will tell the Conservative Party that the parliamentary secretary should not sit on the Standing Committee of National Defence. We all recall the issue. Since he looks like a nice fellow, I think he can stay. However, the issue is outstanding.
As well, I would remind you that the Department of National Defence, is, if you will, divided into two structures: a military structure and a structure made up of elected officials. I would feel uncomfortable if we were holding an in camera meeting amongst ourselves, and somebody in uniform came in to sit behind Russ. I want to avoid that scenario. I don't know if his proposal would allow this, but I believe that it would be wise to prevent this from happening because our discussions must be kept private. Uniformed officers hold many private meetings that we do not attend. Therefore, I don't see why we should deprive ourselves of the privilege of meeting amongst ourselves.
Therefore, I would prefer that there only be members of Parliament, accompanied by their staff members. We can allow people from the department to attend, but I don't want to see anyone in uniform here, not because I hate them, but because some discussions must be held amongst ourselves.