Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague.
I support today’s motion. I regret that the NDP did not include a role for the parties with fewer than 12 members, such as the Bloc Québécois and the Green Party, but I think it is still a good proposal for improving the present situation.
There is a little story that everyone may have forgotten: the story of the Security Intelligence Review Committee, or SIRC. Under the legislation governing that committee, it was mandatory that the leaders of the official parties in Parliament be consulted. During Mr. Harper’s time, Arthur Porter was to be appointed to the position of chair of the committee. Gilles Duceppe, who was the leader of the Bloc Québécois at the time, replied by letter, in which he raised a red flag because Arthur Porter had something of a odd past.
In the end, we all know what happened. Arthur Porter was given full security clearance in the Government of Canada, made an officer of the Privy Council, and WENT down in history as a known fraudster. If one needs an example of why we need more than on-paper consultation, I doubt one would find a better example than Arthur Porter.