Thank you, Madam Chair.
I was kicked off while Mr. Barsalou-Duval was speaking, but I want to talk about how serious I think it is for us to be here discussing these motions, given the events over the weekend, because it actually draws a line under what is the important difference between the government and opposition members here.
The original purpose in my mind and as written in the motion for this study was to look at why there was no action at senior levels to combat sexual misconduct, and I probably should qualify that by saying no effective action. No one on the committee can dispute, in a situation while Operation Honour was supposed to be operating, that there were more than 500 sexual assaults, a total of more than 700 sexual assaults and sexual harassment claims filed.
For me, the critical issue here is why there is this lack of action at the senior level. Was this the fault of senior leaders who simply didn't understand this? Was this the fault of a minister or a Prime Minister who didn't want to take responsibility for this? To me, that's the critical question.
I understand if members of the government don't think that's the important question, but it is hard to sit through more than 40 hours of committee time being taken up by reading reports from other jurisdictions and testimony from another committee into the record here.
The government members are pretending that the status of women committee is not about to issue a report that takes into account the survivors' testimony and includes—my understanding is it is expected to include—most of the recommendations that they have been talking about here.
We have this failure at senior levels to fully understand what the issue is here. I think the golf game over the weekend is a serious indication that it persists. It persists at two levels. I cannot believe that the acting chief of the defence staff is still in office this morning. The group that investigates General Vance reports to him, yet he chose to play golf with him over the weekend. No police chief who played golf with someone being investigated by the department would remain in office.