Commissioner, we've just heard from the law clerk that the subject matter is relevant. We know from the Paulson report that there were serious questions about Ms. George and her involvement in this matter. Furthermore, with respect to this committee particularly, we know that parliamentary privilege does not protect a witness from contempt of Parliament, or perjury, to use the equivalent term in other processes. It most certainly does not protect a witness from lying. And while it may be true, certainly, that the evidence or testimony given before this committee is not something you can use, the outcomes certainly are.
After the testimony given today by Ms. George, I can say there are deep and troubling concerns about what she said. There are inconsistencies that don't add up, and it stretches all imagination that the truth has been told in certain instances. So we are left with a very troubling circumstance.
What concerns me, Commissioner, in what you're saying here today, in not taking this seriously and not having reserved your judgment until our report came out and the committee and the House made a determination about whether or not there was contempt of Parliament, is what is at stake. We know there is a great deal of public concern about the RCMP right now and that your job is to restore faith in that institution. From the Air India inquiry to Maher Arar to the Mayerthorpe incident to the tasers and to the pension fiasco we're investigating today—