Mr. Speaker, why is the government not taking these issues seriously? Let us distinguish between members like the member for Kingston and the Islands who, unfortunately, is likely simply being given a line to deliver. Why are the Prime Minister, the health minister and the powers that be repeatedly refusing orders of the House? I would suggest that they have decided there are things in these documents that they do not want to be subject to parliamentary scrutiny, and that should very much worry members. We know the government wants to move its legislative agenda forward. It has had many opportunities to simply hand over the documents, and then this whole thing goes away. It all would go away. It would all go away right now, if it hands over the documents. That is all the government has to do.
It would not be handing them over to the public; it would be handing them over to the law clerk, who would then review the redacted items and hand things over to a committee. The government could make all of this go away tomorrow, but it has repeatedly, knowing the consequences, refused to do that. This suggests that there is something in these documents that the government is so afraid of seeing any kind of light of day, even through the law clerk and a committee would be looking at them in camera.
Recognizing that fear in the government should just underline the urgency of continuing to push very hard on these issues.