It is clear, Mr. Chairman, that Mr. Petit is not only new to the committee but also to Parliament Hill. First of all, when members both from the government and opposition sides talk about other jobs, they are not talking about other paid employment, they're referring to parliamentaries responsibilities.
Secondly, I think that Mr. Sauvageau's proposal regarding the number of meetings and the number of hours we would sit each week is completely reasonable. Allow me to explain why.
I have already had the honour of sitting on other legislative committees. I have also been a member of special committees and of regular committees. I had the experience, in 2004, of being a member of a committee that sat in the morning, the afternoon and the evening during adjournment weeks of the House of Commons, and I must remind you all that it was I, Marlene Jennings, who moved the motion to add extra meetings in the evening, the daytime and during the adjournment weeks. This was not an opposition member's motion, it was a motion tabled and moved by a member of the government at that time, in this case myself.
It was a painful experience for all the members of the committee, on both the government and opposition sides, to the point where the committee had become almost dysfunctional, was not working properly. This was a committee that had always functioned well, that had always managed to reach consensus and to negotiate reasonable agreements. This nearly broke its back and ruined its reputation. I attribute this in part to the number of hours that the committee members were asked to sit.
Therefore I find that ten hours is altogether reasonable. As all my colleagues mentioned, I think this is a committee where everyone wants to do the right thing. If, in the future, circumstances are such that as an exception it is necessary to hold an evening meeting, I think you will see that we are all reasonable people.
This is why I will not support the amendment moved by Mr. Poilievre and I will only vote in favour of Mr. Sauvageau's main motion.