Mr. Speaker, here we are once again. I think I have been up in the House talking about this issue probably as many as nine times since the election, twice this week.
I probably have a clear idea of what you are going to say. We are getting used to that too, and I understand your position on it, which I respect a great deal.
We brought this issues before procedure and House affairs. We talked about it this morning and we will be dealing with the issue. I am not sure what the outcome of that will be.
I am aware of even the offers that are made by various media to members of parliament suggesting that if we get the documents first perhaps we can have a front page or we will give a big scoop here and a big scoop there. This is truly a result of members responding to that, so the integrity basically falls apart. Once it starts, where does it stop?
I am concerned as much as anybody else about the authority, the dignity and the integrity of the House of Commons and its offices, but obviously some in here are not and that denigrates everybody in here.
My colleagues said we are responsible but we are not going to tolerate being scooped. We will not be undersold in the House of Commons. It is to the point now where I have to decide, if this cannot be stopped, whether we consider on this side of the House that reports in committee are just public documents. We are not going to get into this. We have upheld what we feel is the honourable thing to do and that is not to leak reports. This is continuing consistently and it is getting worse. I feel obliged to put the House on notice that we are not going to tolerate this any longer. These reports have to be considered public because we are not going to be out scooped by any of these people who lack the integrity and the dignity they are supposed to have.
I am going to have a long talk with our critics. We will get back to the House, but this is the last time I make this statement. We are sick and tired of it, quite frankly, and I am not going to allow my colleagues, our critics, to be undersold by anybody in the House.