I'm reading from page 823 in Marleau and Montpetit. It talks about subcommittees and it says:
Where committees have agreed to establish sub-committees on agenda and procedure (steering committees), their memberships have varied considerably to suit the needs of individual committees. This sub-committee typically consists of the Chair of the committee, the Vice-Chairs, representatives of each of the other recognized parties and, on committees having a departmental responsibility, the Parliamentary Secretary.
Following this structure of tradition where you have an odd number and you also have the voice of the government, that is the tradition. It creates a functioning subcommittee. Without that structure, you do not have the voice of the government and the chair remains neutral and only casts a vote if there is a tie. You also create a structure of fairness. That is why the motion I have before the amendment, which is on the floor, is that we have a representative of the government. If I'm unavailable, then it would be one of my colleagues.