Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I've been on this committee for six years now. I started on this committee and I've been very fortunate. I don't think I've ever seen it politicized, and I'm really thankful for that, I really, really am. I would just hope that we don't go down that road, the simple reason being that we understand the nature of the politics of this issue. I think everybody understands the nature of that.
But I do feel if it were that the mandate for this committee to investigate that, then we go and do that, no holds barred. If there is guilt or innocence, or any assumptions, so be it; that would be our mandate. But I truly believe that to duplicate another committee's work, work that falls within their mandate...I just don't understand it. I don't think it's a wise use of taxpayers' money. I don't think it falls within the responsibility of this committee at this point.
Now, if a case is made that this committee should follow through in the absence of another committee's responsibility and we pass judgment on that and the chair sees fit to do that, then we would decide that at that time. But I would ask the chair's indulgence on this. I have not made and would not make any recommendation based on simply a benefit to a party or a government.
I'm not trying to suggest that I'm holier than thou, far from it, but what I do suggest is that there's a difference between doing our job here as a committee responsibly and working for the taxpayers of Canada effectively within a process that we all have come to respect. If we don't respect our process that we have here, then we just start to denigrate, into another squabbling committee, and I would hate to see us go down that route.
That's why, Mr. Chair, I would ask for a ruling in favour of my argument. We accept whatever the chair's ruling is, maybe not gracefully, and maybe happily, but of course, that's my honest feeling from my heart and the way I believe things should be. Thank you.