Thank you.
Would anyone else like to speak to the point of order? No.
In that case, I would like to remind committee members of what is contained on page 108 of the manual entitled House of Commons Procedure and Practice:
The questions and discussions at these meetings are generally wide-ranging, although the rule of relevancy does apply.
Is the question before me relevant? To assess the relevance of questions, subsection 101(2) of the Standing Orders of the House of Commons indicates the following:
(2) Speeches in committees of the whole must be strictly relevant to the item or clause under consideration.
It also says that the chair must show great flexibility as to the nature of the questions which can be asked in the course of deliberations.
Any issue which has to do with the supplementary estimates we are studying would normally be relevant. I would therefore invite Mr. Dosanjh to ask his question, but, as Mr. Bachand put it so well, to establish a connection with the supplementary estimates, so that we can get on with our work. I would invite him to be a little more specific and to word his question so as to establish a connection with the supplementary estimates we are studying today.
Mr. Dosanjh.