Sorry, 793 different submissions. To have the analyst begin to prepare the pre-budget report, that gives us over the next three weeks the chance to hear from the Finance Minister and the Bank of Canada. We'll also be hearing from the Privy Council clerk, the law clerk and the Ethics Commissioner. At the same time, we'll need a number of committee meetings to finalize the pre-budget report.
That's an alternative scenario that is legitimate, as well, that allows us to meet the original House deadline without the unanimous consent required to extend the deadline. It gets the report in from everybody who has been providing that information to us, 793 witnesses, and we could certainly remind people to provide us with their submissions.
It allows us to meet the deadline in a way that prioritizes the Finance Minister, Bank of Canada, and is compliant with the motion we've just adopted.
I certainly will consult on Ms. Dzerowicz's motion, but it's worthwhile taking a few minutes to look at alternatives. That's what I put forward as an alternative. It allows us to do everything that we have to do based on the submissions we've already received, 800 or so.
I'm not sure it's realistic for us to be.... We're going to be doing all this anyhow. I gather we will be having a week of hearings prior to Christmas, and then perhaps a week of meetings in January to finalize the report.
It's all very rushed. I'm not sure there's a value-added to that when we have a three week period where we can hear witnesses, prepare and discuss, pass the report, and meet the deadlines that the Standing Order has set.