Mr. Speaker, I will try to be as brief as possible, but I think that the member for Peace River has not overstepped his bounds at all, considering the situation in which we found ourselves when the member for Mississauga South was chairing the ethics committee meeting last Thursday. I participated in that meeting and I must say that I have great concern over the way the member for Mississauga South conducted himself at that committee meeting.
First of all, just to follow up on what the member for Peace River said, the witness that we had before committee was definitely intimidated by the member for Mississauga South. O'Brien and Bosc, on page 1069, states:
Witnesses appearing before committees enjoy the same freedom of speech and protection from arrest and molestation as do Members of Parliament.
It goes on to say on page 1070:
Tampering with a witness or in any way attempting to deter a witness from giving evidence may constitute a breach of parliamentary privilege. Similarly, any interference with or threats against witnesses who have already testified may be treated as a breach of privilege by the House.
The member for Mississauga South at the committee said, “Mr. Togneri, I would just indicate to you that refusal to answer a question is not an option”. That is the first crossing of the line, in my opinion. The second one is in The Hill Times, where the member for Mississauga South said:
“I think the posture of the witness and the arguments of the government members seems to indicate they really don't want this matter discussed in committee,” he said. “If he refuses to answer [questions at Tuesday's meeting], then he is subject to possibly being in contempt of committee.”
Again he is threatening the witness and definitely trying to tamper with the witness and how he appears before committee, intimidating him and taking away that witness's opportunity.
The member for Mississauga South in getting up here with his sanctimonious statement, his question of privilege, his feigned indignation, really is an overreaction knowing how he behaved at committee last week.
I will move on to point number two.