Mr. Speaker, I am a member of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, and I am one of the few members who was there during the Conservative members' 10-hour marathon.
We had five meetings on the issue, including one that ended at 11:30 p.m. The Conservative members constantly had to be reminded that they were repeating themselves, that their arguments were repetitive and that they had already said the same things or that the things they were saying were not relevant.
They tried to bring up a number of things that had nothing to do with the subject at hand: the ethical practices of the Conservative Party during the last election, which resulted in Elections Canada and the RCMP carrying out a search warrant. They made endless accusations and false claims about the other parties, and each time, they were called to order. The committee chair did an excellent job; he was very patient.
Mr. Speaker, I know that you often have rough question periods here, in this House. But what happened in the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics was nothing compared to Wednesday afternoon question periods, if I may say so.
Conservative Party members were especially insulting and contemptuous towards the chair, to the point where the chair himself asked one of the said members to apologize, which the member refused to do. Insults and contempt are the result when arguments run out. When someone has nothing to say and has no more arguments to make, things start to go downhill.
And so, yesterday, at the beginning of committee, I felt I had to make a point. I made a list of the Conservative Party's arguments, as well as a list of my arguments and those of the other parties. And at the start of the meeting yesterday, I listed all of the points that had already been raised.
I did that because there is a rotating membership. Members are invited, and that is fine. I have nothing against members coming to replace others who are permanent members of this committee. They come, but they do not find out what has already been said.
After 10 hours of debate, 10 hours of endless rhetoric, 10 hours of hot air, 10 hours of contempt and occasional insults, we had to make a decision, and the committee chair made a very good one.
In my opinion, Mr. Speaker, this committee should be allowed to continue its work. And when we table our report in this House, I imagine that you will rule on the pertinence of the report, as that is your role. And I have no doubt that you will find this report pertinent because we are concentrating on the ethical practices of public office holders in the Conservative Party during the 2006 election.