The minister says he has a great deal of respect for the work of parliamentarians. He continues to insist that the commission decided to stop working on this matter of its own free will, and another committee studying the situation of detainees is also being shut down. What he says is true, because there were probably matters of national security at stake.
Mr. Chairman, this does not help us do our job. If they want to help us and if they recognize that we have an important job to do, they have to acknowledge our rights under parliamentary law, but they also have to give us the means to properly do our job. When we receive redacted documents, Mr. Minister, it doesn't take long to translate them into French. In fact, it only took a couple of seconds. It's no different here. We have received a lot of documents, but we cannot get to the bottom of things. The commission cannot operate even if it receives additional money. On top of that, our rights as parliamentarians are being curtailed.
But there's worse, Mr. Minister. How dare you claim that opposition members are friends of the Taliban? You did indeed say that. You compared us to the Taliban! Didn't you also say that we are against the Canadian Forces? In my opinion, the purpose of such tactics is to shut up the opposition. The government is hiding behind the wall of national security and we cannot even find out whether it is giving us valid reasons for doing so. Could you, once and for all, acknowledge that the opposition has a very important role to play and that it must be listened to? If committees are to work, you have to let them do their job. It is not so hard for you to shut down a commission, but it is harder to shut down a parliamentary committee.
I apologize for raising my voice, but I would like you to address this matter.