Mr. Speaker, we could debate all day whether it would have been apropos for me to make an apology. I was not the one who made those comments. I would never make those types of comments. The fact of the matter is as I have said, that I think people were expressing their deep frustration.
The hon. member for South Shore was part of a process of sucking up to the Liberal government during the hearings. That is the reality. I cannot speak about the other four hearings as I was not there, but everyone who was present at the hearing in Prince George saw the type of opposition member that the member for South Shore is. People were quite appalled by the fact that he supported the Liberal government in excluding people from Prince George who had taken time from work, had gone to that hearing and wanted to be heard. He supported the Liberal government in excluding those people and in denying them their democratic right to be heard. It has been pointed out that the committee incurred expenses with taxpayers' money to travel to British Columbia supposedly to listen to British Columbians on this important issue.
Imagine the extent of their frustration and anger. They had taken time off work to put their points of view forward. While sitting there they learned that the committee chair and the committee, supported by members like the member for South Shore, were going to deny them their right to be heard by the committee, yet their tax dollars had been used to fly in an author from Vancouver because he was the only person the committee could find who would support the Nisga'a treaty. It could not find local people so it had to fly in somebody from Vancouver at taxpayers' expense. This author was representing only himself. He was not representing a group. He admitted that during his testimony.
Sadly that frustration bubbled over and some very unkind things were said. As I already said I think the individuals who would have said those things, once they had calmed down, would apologize.