Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'll deal with that.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No, I think I got your question.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I wish you real success. I think many Canadians do. You have a big challenge. I hope you're up to it.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The Governor General, in making a judgment call on whether an alternative Prime Minister--in that case, Mr. Dion--could command the confidence of the House of Commons, would not be governed by Gallup polls. Polling is not a good gauge of what people in high office should be doing

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Oh, no, I don't agree with that. The Prime Minister is the chief constitutional adviser of governments in all the Westminster countries.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The Governor General most certainly makes all her decisions for the well-being and welfare of Canadians, and, on these constitutional matters, as close as she can get to it, to figure out what most Canadians desire in the circumstances. She is not there to exercise her personal

Procedure and House Affairs committee  “Advise”....

Procedure and House Affairs committee  “Communicate”, yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Sure. You can write anything to the Governor General.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Oh, I think you can, but I don't think you need to do all that to create a convention. If the leaders of the four parliamentary parties sat in a room, after getting advice and drafts from their various helpers, and came out of the room and said, “After meeting, we now agree,” j

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There is not, to my knowledge, either convention or written law on who can speak and advise the Governor General. I've advised the Governor General, and I'm sure as hell, as a professor, not mentioned in any law or convention. The Governor General gets advice, seeks advice, from

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Oh, I think you can. I think the Governor General's staff might give you an answer as to whether she saw the letter or not.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Oh, heavens, yes. A letter is a letter. We all know what was in that letter. We all even know the order of the names. Good Lord; I mean, these people are active. They get up, and they just soak everything up—including the Governor General, and her staff, and her advisers—every

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Certainly you can.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I don't think it creates as solid a foundation for going forward as an agreement of all the parties, and it leaves before us the possibility of a crisis. Most Canadians do not want another crisis of this kind.