Mr. Speaker, I must say I am a little surprised by my colleague's remarks concerning the new timeframe for a public inquiry. I am surprised because, according to the information I have, this directly contradicts what his leader, the Prime Minister, said in the past. In his statement on January 11, 2008, the Prime Minister said he would convene the public inquiry as soon as the committee hearings—I would like to emphasize the word “hearings”—were over. He did not say that it would be done as soon as the report was available.
The Prime Minister said:
After reviewing the report and consulting Professor Johnston, the government has decided to convene a public inquiry once the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics has finished its hearings.
The committee's hearings have been finished since Tuesday. It is now Friday. I therefore do not understand why the hon. member for South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale is now, a month and a half later, contradicting his leader.