Mr. Speaker, I will try as much as possible to assure House members that we on the government side are taking the matter very seriously, and this is the reason why, when we look at the motion that has been brought forward by the House leader from the New Democratic Party, we want to respond in a very favourable fashion.
That is why I am encouraging members to recognize that, if they genuinely believe that this is an issue that we should be dealing with, the proper way to deal with it is in the motion that has been moved. That is that the matter go before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, where we will be afforded the opportunity to hear what every member has to say with respect to what took place this afternoon. I am prepared to work the entire summer if need be.
It is very important that we, as legislators, as parliamentarians, recognize that the most valuable way we can contribute to drawing this issue to a conclusion is to allow the procedure and House affairs committee to do what it does best, and that is to deal with privileges. I have sat on that committee and have seen how beneficial the committee is in terms of being able to serve the House. I would suggest, if members are genuine in wanting to see this issued resolved and the question of privilege resolved as quickly as possible to have an outcome, that we need to allow the procedure and House affairs committee to do its job. I know the membership of that committee is more than happy to make this a first priority on its agenda, and I suspect there will be consensus from all members of the committee to do that. This is the reason why I would suggest that what we need is to be able to see—