Obviously, I [Editor's note: technical problems]. I would like to add the following. As members of Parliament, we all travel all over the world. No matter what party you represent, people all around the world tell us how much they respect Canada because of its highly developed democracy. There is no doubt that Canada is one of the two or three most democratic countries in the world. And democracy is measured, first and foremost, by the level of democracy within a country's Parliament.
I have sat on and chaired other committees. For example, when we debated employment equity, we held that Parliament should be a model for other Canadian institutions, because, as the elected representatives of the Canadian public, Parliament is our voice. Not only is Canada a model for other less democratic countries—a matter we have discussed at length—but Parliament must also be a model for Canada. Since I began sitting on this committee, I have noticed that our progress has slowed. Take, for example, the filibuster that tied up an entire meeting. I apologize for having to use an English word—in fact, it is an American word—but I do not know the French word. That filibuster prevented us from voting on an item and making swifter progress in our discussions. That is the sort of behaviour that has slowed down—and now completely paralyzed—the work of this committee.
Obviously, some people will try to say that this is nothing but a tempest in a teapot, that it is unimportant, and that the members of the committee are getting unnecessarily worked up about what the chairman did. I however do not think that this is a tempest in a teapot. Our behaviour must always be beyond reproach. As members elected by the Canadian public, we must show respect for Canadians and carry out the work they have asked us to do.
Mr. Chairman, to my mind, by cancelling the meeting without notice and then cancelling a second meeting without explanation, you failed to live up to this responsibility. I wonder if we would even have had a meeting this morning if I had not tabled my motion. The reason I ask is that two meetings have already been cancelled without any explanation.
As members of Parliament, we have responsibilities towards the Canadian public—