When I proposed holding a meeting the week of May 9, I thought second reading of the bill would have already begun and even been completed by now, given that it was mid-April when we talked about it.
To be perfectly honest, I'm a bit reluctant to set a precedent where the committee studies bills before second reading has even begun. Most likely, it will have begun by the time we meet next week. But for me, the bottom line is I'm not comfortable with this practice. We did it before with the physician-assisted dying bill.
Technically speaking, bills are subject to second reading for a reason. All of the debate that goes on in the House informs the committee's subsequent discussion of the issue. If we start to hear from witnesses while the debate in the House is still under way, frankly, what purpose does the debate at second reading serve? That is why I'm reluctant to begin this study immediately.
There is another point I'd like to make. When we made the suggestion, we had no idea what the budget bill would entail, and now we know we are dealing with a 170-page document containing extremely complex elements. I think we would do well to push the scheduled discussion to later in the week.
I suggest that the subcommittee meet not just to study the implications of discussing the bill prior to the completion of second reading, but also to see how much time the committee wants to spend on the bill in order to do a thorough review.