Procedure and House Affairs committee  I just wanted to make sure you saw its importance. It has served us well, too.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's right.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It would certainly be a change, Mr. Reid. We can change governments without an election--at least, most constitutional scholars have thought so--if, after an election, the incumbent government meets the House and wants to carry on but is quickly defeated and there's a clear alte

Procedure and House Affairs committee  So that's there now. What you do with a constructive vote of non-confidence is that you would all have to agree on it. And in doing it, you'd have to recognize that this is quite a big change. A constructive vote of non-confidence--again, a vote saying “We don't have any confid

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Okay. I've got the right channel now.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm sorry, but what was your question?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm recommending that this committee and your House, of which you are a part, reach an agreement on how you're to be closed down. That's a crucial part of the life of any body, and I think you have to decide. The idea that you can be closed down anytime, for any length of time,

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes; I think the country would be better off, though, if you could reach a unanimous decision. I read the debate very carefully on the Layton motion on March 17. I read the government comments on it. I read them very carefully. I didn't see anything put forward by the governmen

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.