Mr. Speaker, I actually believe the last comment made by my hon. colleague was bordering on the absurd. We are asked to recuse ourselves from anywhere where we have a financial interest. There is a fundamental difference between that and being the subject of a lawsuit, when one is in the business of actually having to challenge, whether it is a government procurement scheme or challenging a minister.
We have a situation where the government is acting incredibly litigious against other members of Parliament whenever it is questioned. We would have a situation, under this government, where it could say to the hon. Leader of the Opposition that since he is under a lawsuit, he really cannot speak to any of the issues he has raised because somehow his privilege has to be taken away.
We are dealing with a very serious issue. If we were to allow the principle to stand, that anyone could be subject of a lawsuit and then not allowed to continue on their work, then we would be subject to any form of legal intimidation--