Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you, colleagues.
I want to echo what Mr. Baker and Mr. Bagnell just said, which really goes to the essence of the committee's power to summon. The committee holds the power. It is a very strong power. In fact, it is one of its strongest, if not the strongest power. We've heard in previous debate before this committee and multiple times from people the point that just because the committee possesses that power does not mean that it should exercise it. In fact, in some cases, in a number of respects, it retains the power by not exercising it.
On the evidence, that is the case here as well, because we have really no indication that Mr. Marques has indicated any kind of unwillingness to testify. It has been confined to multiple scheduling problems. It has been scheduling problems. If we were to go ahead and vote in favour of this motion and exercise the power to summon, it would set a precedent that is wide sweeping, not just with respect to this Parliament, but also potentially affecting previous governments, previous ministers and staff members of previous ministers who, in similar circumstances, may then also much more easily be subjected to a summons just to keep the precedent.
My view, as I've indicated multiple times, is that it's not a good view forward. The committee in the past—maybe the clerk can just refresh our memory on this subsequently—has not exercised its power, at least not through this committee, and just in very few cases elsewhere, if at all. That needs to be kept in mind.
Again, Madam Chair, I raised the option earlier with respect to the committee having other tools to find the availability of Mr. Marques and to update itself through the vice-chairs and members of the subcommittee on agenda and procedure as to what the latest correspondence is directly from Mr. Marques and to inquire if, within the parameters the committee set earlier today and keeping in mind the timing of the report, there would be an opportunity to bring him before the committee, even though today was not possible for him. There are options available. The committee's power to summons should be very, very judiciously exercised. In my view, this is not one of those cases.
Once again, Madam Chair, I emphatically would like to draw the committee's attention to the pending report and the importance of the points that we are hopefully going to make with respect to changing the culture in the Canadian Forces, giving serving female members of the Canadian Forces the power to come forward, but equally importantly, changing the culture within the Canadian Forces to one of inclusion and ultimately one in which there will be no further victims, not because they're disempowered to come forward but because the culture has changed. That really is the work, and the minister has indicated an openness. He has said that it's time for a total culture change. He has also said that “...the time for patience is now over.”
We are at the end of our procedure, in the sense that we're now looking for recommendations for the draft report, and that really is where the heavy lifting needs to take place. I look forward to hearing all my colleagues' recommendations and then spending time in committee business discussing the draft report and putting something forward to Canadians that's constructive and forward-looking and will contribute to changing the culture in the Canadian Forces in a very expeditious and substantive way.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.