Procedure and House Affairs committee  I have a ten-year-old son who plays hockey. He was raised in the post-lockout era of rule changes. When he sees a mild hook, of the kind that would have passed under the radar ten years ago, and a penalty isn't called, he is outraged to the point of turning blue in the face. When he gets out on the ice, the idea that he can use the stick as a way of stopping another player is something that doesn't even occur to him.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  For now, but that's generational. It is being raised in a new set of circumstances, which makes the previously unimaginable imaginable, and conversely. I think time works fast in this respect. Some politicians have been around this House for decades, and others change more quickly.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It did not happen exactly like that, but I did write a letter...

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The reaction I got was amazing on every level. At first, writing that letter was really an exercise to clarify my own thoughts. I must admit, I was shocked and outraged when a second prorogation was announced in the space of one year. I wanted to explain my reaction to myself—I am a philosopher, after all—to find out whether it was just an unjustified outburst or, on the contrary, whether there was something I could put into words, which would justify why I felt that something fundamental and not just transient had happened.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm sure it's on the same scale.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think that one of the answers is probably time. I think you're perfectly right. We've had minority governments in this country now for a period of six years, which is a blip, the blink of an eye, and I think it's perfectly natural for people who have been literally raised politically in a culture of majority governments to ask, when they achieve power: “What is there at my disposal here that can permit me to act as if I had a majority?”

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In general, in thinking about ways in which to create over time an ethos of governance in a perhaps long-term minority situation wherein different parties will succeed one another in being in power in a minority situation, I think anything that would exacerbate the conflictual nature of Parliament would be a bad thing.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Right. Now I forgot what I was going to say.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, not to exacerbate, and.... There was a point that was probably brilliant and central to the future of Canadian parliamentary democracy that I've now forgotten.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I have not, no. I only just found out that this can all be followed online, and I will.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes. My understanding is that it can't really be considered as a constitutional convention. Part of the reason I think so is precisely that I've spoken at great length about the issue with Peter Russell. His expertise is second to none in this country, and therefore I defer to him in matters constitutional—although I think it makes sense to view it that way.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  And I appreciate that eating will perhaps make you less ferocious with me during the question period.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you very much for having me here. It's a pleasure and an honour, and at the same time a bit of a sacrifice, since being here means that I'll have to spend the fifth game of the Canadiens-Pittsburgh semifinal in Ottawa rather than in Montreal. But I'm sure that some of you will direct me to the appropriate sports bar to be surrounded by Canadiens fans rather than Senators fans.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Oh, maybe I should. I'll talk to you after. I imagine the reason I'm here is that in January I wrote a letter that snowballed beyond what I'd expected. It ended up being signed by close to 300 academics, for the most part professors of law, political science, and some of us oddball philosophers.