Thank you, Chair.
One thing the committee faces in this current session of Parliament must be the experience of our previous session, in which—the committee and chair will remember this well—the committee was probably its most dysfunctional perhaps in the last 10 or 15 years. We had to excuse witnesses. The chair was challenged a number of times. The tone of partisanship that entered into this committee was one of the highest it's been from the reports of many who've watched this committee for a number of years.
In an effort to avoid this happening again--and the committee members are well aware that it has been my intention to find ways to deal with the issues that I think Canadians are pressing upon us to deal with around the environment--we need a more coherent and less partisan way to approach dealing with the issues that come before us.
The place where that starts is in the setting of the agenda. As we all know, whether it be a meeting or a study, the terms of reference that guide us through that study can be as important as the testimony and the eventual results: they set the direction.
I think the subcommittee, in the past, has worked well. I know it was refused last time, but in this effort I think it's important for us to consider striking it again to ensure that we have the best agenda possible, that we have the best focus possible, and that we don't waste time.
I can recall discussions around the agenda that went on, with the entire committee involved. They were prolonged. There were partisan shots going back and forth across the table, which were unhelpful. I think all committee members should have in our interests, at the foundation, the ability to proceed with work as quickly and effectively as possible.