Mr. Speaker, I would also like to make some comments. I was one of the members who attended the committee meeting on June 17, during the summer recess.
When I was first approached by the chair of the committee and by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, I told them I was concerned about the two clauses to amend the Copyright Act. I expressed concern because I believed that these proposed amendments should have been considered within a broader review of the Copyright Act. In fact, I understand that such a review is currently underway.
Both the chair of the committee—as he acknowledged during the June 17 meeting—and the parliamentary secretary assured me that the two clauses would be removed and set aside during the clause by clause consideration. Therefore, I volunteered to attend the June 17 meeting, knowing that some members would be in their riding for the summer recess.
I agreed to do so because I, along with each and every member of Parliament, support the merger of two of our institutions, the National Library and the Archives of Canada. I think this government bill deserves to be supported.
The two proposed amendments to the Copyright Act were polluting the bill, if I may say so, and the committee was trying to resolve the issue. When the meeting was held, the committee reneged on its commitment and that is when I voiced my opposition. Members can easily refer to the transcript of the meeting held by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on June 17. I firmly believe that an agreement can be changed at any time as long as it is done with the people who had agreed to it present, which was not the case on June 17.