Senator Housakos: Government leader, thank you for highlighting the problem with your government. You just highlighted — in your talking points — exactly what I’m complaining about. It’s never the fault of the minister or the Prime Minister — it’s the employees in their office, it’s the bureaucrats who didn’t brief them or it’s their email that is too blocked up. That is the problem with your government. This government always has its homework being eaten by the dog before it arrives at school, and it has to stop. Do you know what the concept of ministerial responsibility means? I think, in this Trudeau government, there isn’t anyone left who understands how Parliament works.

I will ask you two simple questions: Can you define for this chamber what ministerial responsibility means as it applies to Parliament? And is the Prime Minister unwilling to apply ministerial responsibility to Minister Mendicino because no one has applied ministerial responsibility to him?

Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Leader of the Opposition): Just a clarification, government leader, for the record, we’ve been in discussions in regard to ministerial Question Period. Our side is very comfortable with the content of this motion. We want to verify that we will go back to the tradition of respecting the rule in this chamber that strangers who are not officially summoned senators cannot take a seat in the Senate. Thus, ministers of the Crown, like any witness when they come to the chamber, will be testifying and answering questions from senators from the witness dock. I just wanted to put that on the record that the government leader has acquiesced to that request.