Thank you, Mr. Chair.
That member who is absent today said that he had mounted the barricades because he agreed and was disappointed at the selection of a unilingual individual. Out of respect for the person who said that, I'm going to wait for him to return to the committee before introducing that motion.
I detest in camera sessions, and that is not customary for the committee. I have been sitting on this committee for years, and we have always conducted our discussions in public. I don't like to hear it said that it is customary to sit in camera. I refuse to allow anyone to impose this custom on us. That is not true. We are in the Parliament of Canada, and we have a responsibility toward Canadian voters to speak publicly. So I'm going to take advantage of the time allotted me to do that.
Here's a subject that also annoys the government. Are people aware that members of the government party are tabling positions in the House calling for the defunding of CBC/Radio-Canada? Are you aware of that?