Mr. Speaker, we have now had the official positions from the Liberals, the Bloc and the NDP. The positions are the same, which is that this motion, if passed, would lead ultimately to the scrapping of the Gomery inquiry. That is the end result, based on the opinions of even Judge Gomery himself, of amending the terms of reference in the middle of a process. As the member just laid out, as a lawyer he would go immediately to court and say that after the fact there had been a change to the rules that protected him.
What is the ulterior motive or the motivation for this motion? The member started off by saying he has waited so long to have his opposition day, which has been delayed, and now he has come up with a motion that is basically counter to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to the rule of law and due process, to “innocent until proven guilty”.
I want the member to confirm again, for the edification of the House and for those watching, that in his opinion this motion ultimately would lead to the quashing of the Gomery inquiry at great expense and disruption and that it may be in fact an irresponsible motion to have put before this place, because in fact it could pass. With a full moon in this place, that motion could pass, and it would be disastrous for Canada. That is my first item.
There is a second item that I want the member to comment on. The member said at the very end of his remarks that he wants the report to be factual in all aspects so that Canadians can reach an informed decision, if I am quoting him correctly. If the Gomery report is based on the rules of evidence and the Supreme Court guidelines with regard to the inquiry process, where there is not the proper cross-examination process that would otherwise be available in a criminal proceeding, how is it that the Gomery report could ever meet that standard so that Canadians could in fact make an informed decision? How can they make an informed decision if they do not have all the facts that a criminal investigation would have?