Mr. Speaker, if this matter is to be investigated, the charge has to be made in some way, shape or form so that the committee knows what it is investigating, what it is endeavouring to determine, what is true and what is not true. That is the reason for that thrust.
A second thing should be said in response to the member's intervention. His committee is not acting just like a court. This Parliament not only interprets laws and can interpret laws in committee, it also makes laws. In fact that is its primary function and that is why the motion is worded the way it is.
If someone does what is alleged and it is established that they did it or whatever the case is established, should that be viewed as seditious? That is not a question a court can answer but it is a question which Parliament and a committee can answer. If it should be viewed as seditious, then this body has the capacity to change the law and the definition of sedition. That is why the words "should be viewed" are included in the motion. To strike them changes the whole nature of what we are endeavouring to do.