On the other question, which I think is a question relating to Mr. Laforest's motion to call the former Lieutenant Governor of Quebec before the committee, it's a matter of what you might call constitutional comity, as it were, that viceregal appointees—indeed, that means the Governor General or Lieutenant Governor—are not subject to being called before parliamentary committees in respect of their function. It would just be, in my view, a constitutionally rude thing to do and disrespectful of the constitutional hierarchy we live with. This is not that I suggest for a moment any committee members wish to be constitutionally rude. What they might do, however, is call upon the administrator of that office, it being a public office, to come to the committee and explain how moneys were expended and why that official would appear to have allowed these expenses to happen without the appropriate oversight. There must be some administrator in that office. I appreciate it may not be a large office, but there must be some functionary whose job it is to administer the expenditures and the budgetary decisions taken by that office. I would have thought that would be the appropriate person who might be called here.
I seem to recall, Mr. Chairman—my memory may fail me—that we had a controversy with the Governor General several years ago regarding travel, and the trip taken by the Governor General met with some public comment. If I'm not mistaken, the secretary to the Governor General appeared before this committee, I suppose, or maybe it was the foreign affairs committee--I'm not sure—and answered questions of a House committee relative to that matter. I think that's accepted as being appropriate, but not the person of the Governor General.
Now, admittedly here the person being sought is a former Lieutenant Governor, so you might be able to summon her as a person, but as soon as she got here, you'd be into trouble as to whether it would be right for you to ask questions pertaining to her functions as Lieutenant Governor.