Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We were having a discussion in the House yesterday about the Members’ desire to be more involved in the activities and actions of this government that are initiated by the Cabinet and by the Premier. In response to that — I suppose in an effort to defend the government’s record — the Premier made reference to an offer that was for Regular Members to participate on certain committees.

As Chair of P and P I was tasked to respond to the government, the Premier and Cabinet that we did not wish to participate on those committees. I think that particular bit of information was not in any way otherwise in the public realm. With our style of government I think it’s very important that we draw a distinction between those matters that are tabled public documents before the House and those pieces of correspondence and communication that take place in relation to our committee work and our interaction with the government through our committee work.

I do believe that the Premier erred in making reference to that. As a Member asking a question, I was not in a good position to defend the reasons that decision was made. I don’t think it should have been divulged in the way it was. I think this could lead to a blurring of the lines with respect to this type of communication, which should remain confidential.