Changes made as to the members sitting on a committee come from the office of the whip. It is the whip who must sign a special document for any member to replace another. It is the person responsible for the office of the whip who brings it to the clerk. We need that. It could happen at any point in the day that I might be called to table a bill in the House and I would need to be replaced by one of my colleagues. We have to maintain that possibility.
On February 5th, 2009. See this statement in context.