I read the Canadian Federation of Agriculture's letter carefully. I can tell you that I agree entirely with the wording of this letter. I believe it is very important to make the report our priority.
Furthermore, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and all the members of this committee are clearly aware of the way in which the committee works. In a normal, democratic manner, the members of the committee may table motions before it, motions that we usually discuss in a reasonable way for a few minutes, after which we hold a democratic vote. In passing I would like to say that I do not agree with Larry that these are procedural motions. First of all, there has been a lot of politics here and that is normal. Secondly, I can tell you that in my case—and I am convinced it is the same thing for most of my colleagues from the other parties—when I table a motion, it is following discussions and requests from agricultural producers who want to see some progress in their case.
That is just as commendable, and equally important. The CFA knows it, the government members know it and the opposition members do as well. We have every right to table motions. It is ironic that the parliamentary secretary would ask us to work diligently and set aside these motions in order to work on the report, whereas he is filibustering the first motion, Mr. Easter's. If we conclude the debate and move democratically to the vote, we can carry on, move on to the following items and quickly do what we have to do, that is to work on the report. That is the way it works and the way it has always worked. That is the way it must be.