Mr. Speaker, I am somewhat surprised by the comments and the speeches made by Bloc members.
I have had the privilege of sitting in two legislative assemblies: the National Assembly and this House. In the National Assembly, there are parliamentary committees. Appointees can be invited to appear before the municipal commission or any other parapublic commission at any time. However, only the presidents of public corporations are invited to appear before a parliamentary committee, contrary to what we have here in the House of Commons committees.
Even Bloc members used Standing Orders 110 and 111 on two occasions to invite people in order to find out about their qualifications and so on.
Virtually all those who are appointed to a position outside the country are invited to appear before the foreign affairs committee. They are questioned.