I find it interesting that opposition members say we can't direct individuals who are not part of this committee on how they should behave, but that's exactly what this protocol proposes to do. It proposes to direct deputy ministers, who have no fiduciary relationship with this committee, on how they ought to behave. This is done without any collaboration with the executive branch of government, for which those deputy ministers work.
Make up your mind, friends. Either you think you can direct others by this committee or you can't.
Furthermore, we did direct Mr. Franks to meet with members of the government. He says he wasn't successful in obtaining those meetings. Well, I can assure you that the President of the Treasury Board is ready to meet with them. He's also ready to testify in front of this group.
I suppose there are some people who do not believe their arguments will stand up against his and they have therefore avoided having him here in the first place. Now we're stuck with a protocol that will undermine ministerial responsibility, and opposition members will have to explain that to their constituents.