Mr. Chairman, I listened to the exchange between Ms. Watts and Mr. Sutherland, bearing in mind that the chair, according to the testimony of several witnesses, should have significant public communications and moral suasion powers by which to engage the public as well as colleagues and counterparts.
Mr. Sutherland, in your view, what would happen if the committee requested information from a minister or requested the attendance of a lower-level official to shine some light on an issue that official would be familiar with, and the minister declined to respond positively to that request? How would that play itself out in the context of having a Westminister model in which trust really is the essence?