I think the telephone call from his superior officers is a very serious issue with respect to a parliamentary committee. I want to read into the record that on page 94 of O'Brien and Bosc it says:
[A]lthough witnesses before a parliamentary committee are not Members of Parliament, they are not strangers to the House either. Rather they are guests who are afforded parliamentary privilege because, as with members, the privilege is necessary to ensure that they are able to speak openly, free from the fear that their words will be used against them in subsequent proceedings....
...privilege “precludes other entities from holding Members of Parliament or witnesses before committees liable for statements made in the discharge of their functions in the House”.
I wanted to read that into the record, Mr. Chair, as a point of order, but also as a point of caution.
It may be, subsequent to this meeting, that the committee wishes to act upon what has clearly been a call from his superior officers that has potentially—I wouldn't say it “has”, but at least potentially—affected Corporal Kirkland's testimony before this committee. Parliament is supreme in all matters, including the military.