Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Hello and happy new year to everyone.
I am very pleased to be with you to discuss what should be done about the important issue of inflation. All of the parties recognize the importance of addressing that issue.
Mr. Chair, before I talk about the motion, I would like to remind you that, according to my whip's office, you are supposed to mention at the beginning of the meeting that the committee has ensured that all of the participants did a sound test. We know that those tests were done before the broadcast of the meeting began, but the whip's office asked me to remind you that the chair is supposed to mention that.
That being said, it is important for us to be able to address the issue of inflation, particularly when it comes to housing. I know that we will not all share the same views on the matter, but it is a big problem so it is important that we address it.
I would like to remind the committee of the importance of conducting the pre-budget consultations since that is an important role that the committee plays. We dealt with this matter in December by saying that we would start working on it again in a few weeks. In my opinion, we have an opportunity to start examining the issue of inflation right now. I am pleased that we are able to bring this matter forward.
With regard to the number of meetings, I would respectfully ask Mr. Poilievre to reduce the number of meetings provided for in the motion to 10. I therefore propose a friendly amendment in that regard.
If that is not possible, I could propose an official amendment. If we find that the committee needs more meetings to deal with this issue, then we could change that number at any time. If a friendly amendment were made that sets the number of meetings at 10 rather than at 11 or 12 as the motion proposes, then I would support the motion.