Mr. Chair, still on the issue of the work done by committees, I would just like to make a correction. I did not ask the minister whether he would be bound, but whether he would feel bound by the work done by the Standing Committee on Justice.
There is also another committee that does excellent work, namely the Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs. The announcement made by the minister today on the changes to the government approach with regard to marijuana obviously raises several questions.
The first question is this. The minister went to Washington on May 13 to inform the American government of the decision and the direction that the Canadian government was taking on this issue. It was noticed, in the bill that was distributed to us today, that it was printed and finalized on May 14, which is the day after the visit to Washington.
Can the minister tell us what the input of the American government was on this issue and why was the bill not introduced in the House before being discussed in Washington?
According to the normal legislative process, foreign governments should have been asked for their input on this during the consultation process that will be undertaken by the committee, and not before members of this House had a chance to see and study this bill.