Mr. Speaker, I would just like to take a few minutes to conclude. We all have a duty to ensure that this Parliament works well. There are no puppet committees. The decision of the House to strike the Committee on Procedure and House Affairs was a unanimous one.
This committee, which deals with procedure, privileges and elections, was established by unanimous consent of the House. Every member of this House knows that it is the role of this committee to deal with such issues. It is wrong to now claim that this is a puppet committee with no rules. It is absolutely wrong. To make such a claim is also to insult this House. That is what it is. This is not a puppet committee, and it will do its job. Too bad for those who chose to make gratuitous accusations in their motion.
We, on this side of the House, and certainly myself as a long time parliamentarian, only want the committee to do its job, as it has done on several occasions. Contrary to the claim made, this is not unprecedented. I remember the Mackasey case. I remember other cases that were referred to the same committee and a decision was made. I even remember parliamentarians who chose to put their case before the committee, in order to prove their innocence. How can anyone say that this is a puppet committee? These are false allegations. Members opposite know that. It is wrong for them to now criticize in that fashion the existence of House committees and, in doing so, that of our parliamentary institution, and they know that.
Why did those across the floor who chose to make such gratuitous accusations not draft the motion in proper form? Surely, they must know how to do it. And if they do not, there are enough lawyers and procedural experts in this place to help them, and they surely could have consulted them. The same rule applies to them. All we have to do is refer the case to the committee, without making accusations, where it will be heard in an honest and legitimate manner.
That is all we have to do. All the people across the way and those making those kinds of gratuitous affirmations are no better. All we have to do as Parliamentarians is do our jobs honestly in the House and in the parliamentary committee. Then the issue will be clear and hopefully the House will be stronger when it comes out of this. However, it will not happen unless we all want to do the right thing.