Chair, I want to thank the sponsor of the bill, Mr. Rafferty, for the good work he has done here, and all committee members for having worked together. Goodness knows that every effort has been made to try to do something.
I don't necessarily agree always with my colleague Mr. Wallace on why he doesn't support private members' bills. I happen to believe they work very well. Today we're celebrating the anniversary of our flag. That too was a private member's bill, as was the Air Canada Act, as were several that I've passed.
I'm thinking that we cannot dismiss a couple of very important facts. The sponsor of the bill, Mr. Rafferty, recognized that there were some shortcomings in the bill, and that's why he moved a motion of instruction to correct, to clarify, and to provide better framework legislation, recognizing the faults of his own legislation—through no fault of his own, and certainly not intentionally. That motion of instruction was denied and blocked in the House of Commons by the government. It was very clear at the time that this is something we would have certainly—