Mr. Chairman, you said that we do not yet have a draft motion. If that is the case, I would ask that you allow me to propose one and that you then put it to a vote.
I move that this committee sit twice as often as standing committees. Normally, committees meet twice a week. I know that the Conservatives are in a hurry to get this bill adopted, and we are prepared to cooperate fully. That is why I am suggesting that we have twice as many meetings, in other words, four meetings instead of two.
I would suggest that meetings be held on Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to midday, and from 3:30 to 5:50 p.m. I would remind you that some members are still in their ridings on Mondays. There would be no meeting on Wednesday mornings, because we all have caucus. We could, however, meet on Wednesday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., and on Thursday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to midday. That would allow members who have a long way to travel to go to the ridings at weekends. I have not had the chance to calculate the number of sitting hours that would give, but it would give us twice as many meetings as a normal committee.
My proposal is, therefore, that the committee meet on Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to midday, and from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.; on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.; and on Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to midday.
If, for example, a witness were unable to attend a daytime meeting due to his work schedule, and we had to hold an evening meeting, I am certain that, in the spirit of cooperation, we could unanimously decide to occasionally hold one of our meetings outside of our scheduled slots.
As you said that you did not have a draft motion, I consulted with colleagues, and I think that this draft motion will have the support of most, perhaps even all, members of the committee.