Madam Speaker, in reference to this debate today, the member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola actually had his facts wrong when he talked about the lack of scrutiny and discussion about remediation agreements. It was studied at the justice committee on November 7. It was studied at the finance committee, at the Senate committee and that all occurred after year-long consultations.
Today, the member has said that we do not have any respect for the separation between the judicial and the executive branch. I find that kind of commentary quite rich coming from a member of that level of experience, given the track record of the previous government when the former prime minister, Stephen Harper, threw Beverley McLaughlin under the bus for daring to comment on the qualifications of a potential Supreme Court appointee.
In respect to the separation and the accountability mechanisms, there is one. It is called the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. It has undertaken a study and has indicated clearly on the record that the witness list is not closed. Why is the position of the opposite benches such that they are unwilling to let the justice committee continue to do its important work in shedding some light on this issue?