Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, members. I enjoy listening to all of your input, whether on the main motion or on the amendment.
Over and over again I hear from opposition members that there is a need to vote. I almost feel as if I'm being rushed into making a decision on the main motion; there's such a hurry and rush. I want to remind the members that it is through debate that we listen and share our individual perspectives on the motion on the floor, and then we consider it.
Sometimes we act to improve the motion through amendments for it to best fit the mandate of this committee. In fact, we've seen from Mr. Angus that this is true. I think all of our points are being heard, whether we're in the opposition party or are government members. Our points are being considered.
Debate is very important. No members of this committee should feel they're being rushed into voting or into being on the record taking a position on a motion without being properly heard or completely understanding the motion.
I go back to my main point about my concerns regarding the original motion, which is not only about the time frame of 24 hours, but also about opening up access not just to members but also to staff. All of the safeguards from the previous motion in July have not been kept in this new motion. I kept asking these questions in the last few meetings, and I have not heard any solution put forward to address them.
I'm very pleased that Mr. Angus' amendment is going to address at least one of the four main concerns I had, which is to leave Margaret and Alexandre out of this motion. I think that's the sensible thing to do. It's a result of the debate by committee members that we come to this step today. I'm very pleased with this.
Going forward, obviously I'm going to support that amendment, and I urge all members of the committee to support it as well. I think it's much better for the committee's work if we can try to reach a consensus, and I know that the chair works really hard to get us there. Yes, I'm pleased with the amendment, but there are other parts of the main motion that I still feel need to be addressed. These are quite important points to protect one's privacy and also to make sure it's possible for the motion to be executed by those involved.
With that, I want to voice my support for and urge all members to support this amendment. I think it's a good improvement to the main motion.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.