I'd like to call the meeting back to order, please.
Well, that was quick. Thank you very much.
First of all, committee, I'd like to thank you all for giving me this opportunity. I talked to all the parties about giving me a few minutes to address a situation that arose out of a previous meeting. If you give me a few minutes, I'd like to recap what happened and then see if the resolution I have developed is acceptable to you. I'd like to address the events of June 8, first of all, and then the June 13 committee meetings.
First I want to assure Mr. Bachand and all members that my vacating the chair at the June 8 meeting was not part of a prearranged scheme to adjourn the meeting early. I have not played, I am not playing, and I will not play those kinds of games with this committee; however, the motion to adjourn early was presented, it was handled properly by Mr. Bachand and the clerk, and it was passed.
From that early adjournment motion, there were two motions presented by Ms. Black at the June 13 meeting. One motion dealt with potential future dilatory motions; it was eventually withdrawn. The motion in question in my mind is the one in which Ms. Black asked for an apology to be sent to the witnesses.
After reviewing the motion, I sought advice, researched the acceptability of that motion, and received some varying options and opinions. The clerk had ruled the motion acceptable, based on his research and advice he had received, and rightly so. I have been told by some that the motion was admissible and by others that it was not. What I should have done, the more so because of the conflicting views of the committee members, was left these arguments to the committee.
First of all, Mr. Bachand, I want to assure you that exposing you to that original situation was not my intent.
To Ms. Black, I'd like to circulate to the committee a letter that I have prepared for your perusal and for input. The letter is being passed out; I'll wait until it's handed out to everybody.
What I would do is this: we'd have the list of witnesses who were here, and under the heading there, the witness's name would be entered.
I would like to apologize for the early adjournment of the June 8th meeting of the Standing Committee on National Defence.
I appreciate the fact that, at the Committee's request, you took time out of your busy schedule to appear at the meeting to offer your perspective on the issue we are studying. In many cases, witnesses use the question and answer portion of these meetings to make points they did not have time to make during their ten-minute presentation.
Any information you would have presented in the remaining scheduled time of the meeting and that you were unable to present because of the early adjournment, I invite you to submit to the committee as written evidence to be used in the preparation of our final report.
Once again, please accept my apology and I thank you for taking the time to appear at our committee and presenting your views.
That will be over my signature.
Ladies and gentlemen, that's the path I would like to pursue. I would suppose, Ms. Black, that because it was your motion, you may wish to comment.