Mr. Speaker, the right hon. member is alleging that the Minister of Justice will use funding under what is called Treasury Board Vote 5. The Minister of Justice said nothing of the sort. A review of the minister's statement of today would confirm that.
The Minister of Justice committed himself this morning to fulfilling his duties with respect to the firearms registry within the existing authority. He clearly said that. That authority, and we can review it, consists of the Firearms Act and the Appropriation Act passed as Bill C-59 in June 2002.
The minister has indicated that if in managing the funds voted to him last June he requires additional funds to deal with his responsibilities under the Firearms Act, he will come back to the House with a supplementary estimate. We still another round of those before the end of the fiscal year, as the right hon. member will know or should know.
In other words, the minister has said that he will operate within the authority already granted by Parliament and if this is not sufficient, he will ask Parliament for further authority. There is nothing in this that constitutes either contempt or in any way disrespect for this great institution. It is the exact opposite.