I am simply proposing that we follow the process recognized by the House of Commons to accept motions. But here we are, trying to pinpoint down to the minute whether a motion can or cannot be debated at the next meeting. I remember that last year, we often had to deal with motions sent by BlackBerry, for example, at any time during the day. When that happened, the clerk had to decide exactly when the motion had arrived; then the clerk had to make calls and so on.
Under the process recognized by the House, when a motion is tabled at 6:00 p.m., it cannot be debated the next day, but it can be debated the day after that. We are not talking about a notice of exactly 48 hours: it can be 36 hours. It basically comes down to this: there is a period of 24 hours, namely the first day, but on the second day, the debates can take place at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. or 3:30, depending on when the committee is meeting.
The House had the wisdom to establish a period of 48 hours. This avoids discussions on exactly when the motion was received. In the last session, people were checking their BlackBerry to determine exactly when a motion had been sent, and they argued about whether it had arrived two minutes too late. Now, we are talking about 6:00 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, and 2:30 on Friday. We are only talking about working days. It is extremely simple.
This would allow the clerk and members to do their work and not be surprised at receiving a motion sent at 6:00 p.m. In some cases witnesses might show up at 9:00 a.m., but would then be told to leave because the committee has to deal with a motion. A notice of 24 hours would allow us to tell the witnesses not to show up. When witnesses have to be sent back because we did not have the time to warn them, it's not just one person who loses face, but the whole committee.
I therefore think it would be wise to proceed in this manner.