The best way I can illustrate it is to give by example a process that was done by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy some years ago, a climate change forum, so that you get a sense of the kind of time it took 30 members of the Order of Canada to listen to experts and to deal with some of the design features of our response nationally and internationally.
That process lasted several months, and those members of the Order of Canada had the benefit of hearing from experts eight to ten hours a day, for several days—many, many days at once—two or three days and then a break, then two or three days and then a break, and so on. I think there were five sessions in total. It was limited to 35 experts, but they were speaking about climate change in its entirety. We're not going on that great a journey. But I think we should be very careful trying to circumscribe the debate and perhaps even censor the debate by trying to cap it too early.
I think there's a perfectly reasonable middle ground here to give us the time to hear from the witnesses, to draft amendments and take them forward, and then go through clause-by-clause. I'm not sure why there is the rush here for March 19. Is this a budget deadline? Is this a pre-budget submission that we're looking towards? Can someone help me understand why March 19? Why not March 17 at 12 noon? Can we give ourselves an appropriate amount of time here so we can do our work and hear from people? We're not talking about six months. We're not even talking about three months. We're talking about how many weeks, to the end of March--six weeks?
After a year of silence from the government on the issue, I don't think it's a bad thing, six weeks.