—and attempts to interfere with answers, as if they were of no interest to the person asking the question. It seems to me that, if a person asks a question, it is because he or she wants an answer to it.
The premise of the hon. member opposite is something I reject as absolutely morally untenable. It is based on what was allegedly overheard from a private conversation in a plane, something a third party, someone not included in the conversation, had the audacity to make public, without regard to any responsibility for the consequences this might have on the credibility of the commission.
One thing is certain, the contents of the conversation in the plane between the solicitor general and Mr. Toole were part of a private discussion. So people can ask all the questions they want in whatever way they want, but I will not talk about the content of that conversation for two reasons. First, I was not on that plane and I invite my colleagues to exercise the same kind of restraint since they were not on that plane either. Before taking this at face value, I think there are some ethical considerations to be taken into account. Second, I will not talk about it because, by definition, it was not a public but a private conversation. It is not my place to comment publicly on a private conversation.
Moreover, the members talk about providing funding for the students and they throw in a lot of unfounded allegations. However, a decision was made in this House with regard to this issue. It was explained at length that this issue does not affect only that specific commission or that specific problem but that, when a precedent is created, it applies to all administrative tribunals.