There are several responses to what you've just said, Mr. Williams.
Number one, my memory is the same as yours. I attended almost all of those committee meetings in the 37th Parliament. As I recall, your clerk did read out such a statement, and that constituted notice to the witnesses.
On the point of whether such a statement and such a deeming would stand up in a court of law, my hunch is that it would not. This is a political parliamentary forum and deeming is appropriate or the reading out of a statement is appropriate. The end result is the same, but it would not necessarily be recognized in a court of law.