We asked them if they would submit a written brief. We did not get one. They told us they couldn't appear before May 31, which was past the deadline that we needed to meet if we were going to come up with a report.
At this point in time you can ask the minister to compel them to appear. That would be an option, but with the timeline that we have, the analyst has advised that we won't be able to get a report out.
We can call witnesses after we start drafting a report, but to incorporate any of their content would be very difficult. The committee has to decide whether it's more important to achieve a report before Parliament rises or whether they want to extend it to the fall.