Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I kind of regret not continuing with my motion to move this meeting in camera, because had that happened...without an audience, this motion we're debating probably would never have been moved.
I have one thing on my mind, but before I say it, I want to respond to the point made by my colleague, Mr. McCauley.
“Non-partisan” doesn't mean “consensus”. I joined this committee after the last election. The members of this committee see this committee.... The subjects we debate and study are supposed to be non-partisan. I try to craft my questions very carefully—more on the substance, numbers and details, as opposed to, “Would this be good or bad for the government?” because there is no defence and offence in this committee. Everybody is on the offensive to make sure the government is accountable in carrying out its programs.
Not having consensus happens in this committee, but that doesn't mean the government side is partisan in its intentions. At the end of the day, we are a minority government. We don't control the outcome of votes in this committee. I think, from time to time, the public and opposition will have to recognize that, or need to be reminded that we are a minority government. We need to work with at least one of the opposition parties to get stuff done in the House. I think that's a very important fact.
I really hate the fact that we're wasting this committee's time by acting as an extension of question period—although question period is exciting. Some would consider it the most exciting part of our day. We hear the back-and-forth in the House, and there's attendance in the public gallery. It is very exciting, but nothing gets done. The work is getting done in committees like this, where we study things like recommendations, check the compliance with those recommendations and make sure the government follows through, so we have a better system. That's the whole point of this committee.
I don't know why we are debating something that happened in question period. We have another hour of question period tomorrow in which to sort this out. If the Conservative Party member has questions about the intent or wording of that question, he should ask the Prime Minister tomorrow. Tomorrow is Wednesday. I think that's fair. Let's not waste any more time on this committee, trying to sort out something that isn't meant for this committee.
Those are my initial thoughts on this motion. Thank you.