The amendment put forward by the government could block the work of committees. We have to remember that often we have witnesses coming from outside Ottawa, and significant costs are involved. Sometimes witnesses actually come from the most westerly provinces.
What the government is suggesting would involve running the risk of incurring expenses for travel by witnesses, because if there is no opposition or government member present, and there is no quorum, the meeting could not be held. I think this is a danger. During the last session, we passed a rule that worked well. We must facilitate the committee's work. I would move rather that we stick to the rule we passed before.