I can assure you that it might actually go that way. Anyway, I digress.
Mr. Chair, in the discussion we had when the Minister of National Defence appeared before the committee, I and a number of my colleagues asked the question as to why we would codify. There are several examples of previous amendments where the justification was used that we shouldn't codify normal practices because it limits flexibility. I want to make a similar argument now. Why would we codify here that there is a mandatory requirement for the Minister of National Defence to consult with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, when the minister said that as members of cabinet, they do this on an ongoing basis?
When it comes to cybersecurity and the cyber-attacks, where the jurisdiction ultimately falls with the Minister of National Defence, having the minister become almost seemingly a junior minister to the Minister of Foreign Affairs might not be in the best interests or provide the flexibility that might be required.
We're using this amendment to withdraw those references on the assumption that the Minister of National Defence would always be in consultation with cabinet colleagues and have the ability to consult with either the Prime Minister or other cabinet ministers as may be appropriate. We don't even know if it would always be the Minister of Foreign Affairs who would need to be consulted. Threats change and evolve. We used to be worried about symmetric threats or nation threats. Now we're worried about asymmetric threats. We don't know where the future is going, what the nature of the threats might be, and which ministers might be involved in consulting with the Minister of National Defence.
I'm hoping level heads will prevail here and we wouldn't inadvertently handcuff the Minister of National Defence in any way, shape, or form.