Mr. Speaker, first, on the makeup of the committee, the Deputy Speaker of the House chairs the committee. One would imagine that if there were an even number and a tie in the committee process, the Deputy Speaker would have a vote, as we often do at our committees right now. We anticipated this. If there were three parties or five, the Speaker would not have any vote at all, because there would not be a requirement for that. We anticipated that.
Madam Meilleur was vetted, in a sense, eventually. It happened on the floor of the House of Commons during question period, which is probably not the most articulate form of vetting one would hope for as a candidate. It was also done at the Senate and House committee, which was not a great process for her either, I suspect, because all of this was laid out and she was playing defence all the time trying to rationalize this.
Of course, if a meaningful consultation had happened between the parties, the parties would have either said she was very partisan but they still thought she could perform her duties, or unfortunately, because she was a direct contributor to the Prime Minister's own leadership campaign and admitted that it put her in a conflict of interest, as qualified as she was, it was a disqualifying factor, as it would be for a judge or anyone else who should have impartiality.
We need impartial watchdogs in Parliament who can do their jobs. I think it would have been challenging, even if the consultation had been meaningful.