Mr. Speaker, could I ask the hon. members to listen? They have had their say and I would like to have mine. Could I have the courtesy that I accorded to them?
On a technicality, I want to make sure you are very clear on this, Mr. Speaker. Actually I did not write the directive. The directive to which the hon. member for Delta refers was not a directive issued from my office but a memo from one of my regional senior officials in response to a question of my office. There is no question it did come from my office at my request, but I just want to make sure the technicalities were clear.
The intent of the request was to ensure that members of Parliament, and Senators of course who are also members of Parliament, receive the information that they need in a timely manner. I also wanted to ensure that the departmental officials with whom they are dealing are the most qualified and the most appropriate people to answer their questions.
Sometimes these questions are very difficult. Sometimes the questions are complex and deal with complex issues. I wanted to ensure, with respect to the supervision of my staff, that the most appropriate officials at a senior enough level would direct attention to these questions from hon. members.
Far from discouraging public servants from speaking to members of Parliament, the request was to ensure that members of Parliament receive the best possible advice.
As the hon. member is well aware, through his many dealings with my department, his access to departmental information I believe is generous. It is generous, indeed, as it should be. His future access to information should in no way be stifled or diminished. There is absolutely no intent to do that. As I said earlier, it is quite the reverse.
I am not, as the member implies, in the business of doing things that are not in the interests of this House, whether it is in the House during question period, whether it is in discussions or whether it is at meetings with hon. members on all sides of the House to answer questions they may have. I make myself available and I do not think there is a member here who could say otherwise.
The hon. member strikes at the heart of the democratic process, in my mind, and the business of governance. For a minister to do his or her job properly that minister has a responsibility to be aware of what people communicate to anybody associated with the portfolio. I have a responsibility to the hon. member, to this House and to all our constituents to make sure that my department responds to these questions in a proper fashion. How would I know that has been happening unless I know what is happening with respect to the number of queries that have been posed by hon. members of this House?
I have a reputation for openness. I have no reason to hide anything. I have an open department. It has a very close interface with the public. It is a very operational department. The request from my office, I say in all sincerity and in all seriousness, was indeed to ensure that members are accommodated; it was not to inhibit them.
I am committed and I will continue to be committed to providing the best possible service to my colleagues, the elected officials of this House.
By way of wrapping up the thoughts that I have put forward in the last few minutes, the intention when issuing this request to my senior officials was to ensure that members of Parliament are the recipients of the best, most knowledgeable and most timely information when they take the trouble to contact my department. I assure all hon. members that their requests will continue to be handled in a timely, expert and professional fashion.
I can only promise the House that I will continue to keep an open ear to all the voices communicating with me or my department, including the hon. member and each and every one of his colleagues.