Mr. Chair, I respectfully disagree with your interpretation of things. With all due respect, since the beginning, I have been talking about the amendment and the consequences it will have on our committee's work.

I will read the amendment:

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3), the committee conduct a review of the Members of the House of Commons Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy, study occurrences and impacts of harassment in the House of Commons, Parliament Hill, Constituency Offices, and via the use of Members' social media, and make any relevant changes to ensure Members of Parliament, personnel and members of the public who participate in the day‑to‑day activities of the institution are protected from violence and harassment. That the committee invite: (a) the Chief Human Resources Officer; (b) the current and past speakers of the House of Commons; (c) the Clerk of the House; (d) the head clerk of committees; (e) the Sergeant‑At‑Arms; (f) the Interpretation Directorate; (g) anti‑harassment specialists and workplace mental health and safety experts; (h) non‑governmental organizations dedicated to electing more underrepresented communities; (i) former members of Parliament; (j) members of Parliament not seeking re‑election; (k) union representatives; and (l) other witnesses requested by the committee; That six meetings be devoted to witness testimony, and that witness lists be submitted to the clerk within seven days of the adoption of this motion; and that the committee report its findings to the House no later than Thursday, October 31, 2024.

Mr. Chair, you won't be able to say that I'm not talking about the amendment; I just read it. I think that's pretty clear.

What does this amendment mean? That means that we're going to spend the next six meetings talking about this, when we have in our hands a report by Justice Hogue that all parties requested last week, a report that has been made public. I would remind you that this is a preliminary report that is extremely important and that has made some major revelations.

If we devote the next six meetings to this study, as mentioned in the amendment, we will unfortunately let the findings of Justice Hogue's preliminary report be swept under the rug. We can't do that. The role of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs is to act on a motion of the House of Commons that was adopted unanimously, that called this public inquiry and that required us to have a preliminary report.

People now expect us to be able to study the contents of that preliminary report, in particular the Liberal nomination process that resulted in a candidate being chosen, it seems, following a strong presence of representatives of the Communist regime in Beijing. I know the Liberals don't like it when we talk about it.

Luc Berthold

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