I was going to speak to the amendment, because we have our own issues with regard to the 28th, but perhaps I'll speak to the main motion first and then I'll ask my colleague, Mr. Poilievre, for a similar consideration with regard to the date of January 28. Assuming we're sticking to 10 meetings at a minimum, we will find time to get adequate meetings in.
With regard to Mr. Blaikie's comments and prior to addressing the motion as a whole, there was something we did at the fisheries and oceans committee in the previous Parliament, when we had a very significant study on the impact of different issues on wild salmon. We made it into a rolling study, because the issue was so multi-faceted and there were so many aspects that it touched. It's something we could consider.
I don't think we need an amendment to address this issue right now. I think the motion is fine as it is. If necessary, and depending on how far the housing and food conversation goes—and of course the fourth part, the other issues that the committee deems pertinent to the question of inflation—we could have an interim report and continue on past the date if we wanted to continue on these issues and have a study before it, if that is still the top priority of the committee at that time. We'll have to see how the study commences and how people feel it is going.
I want to take an opportunity to speak to the motion as a whole and to welcome everyone back. I hope everyone had a safe New Year's and Christmas.
I'd like to thank my colleagues, Mr. Poilievre and Mr. Ste-Marie, for bringing this meeting together and for moving this motion. Housing affordability, prices at grocery stores, as described by Mr. Blaikie, and issues with supply chains are issues we're all hearing about across the country. Certainly we're seeing them affect countries beyond Canada as well, and it's something that deserves immediate study.
I think some of the key actors who have been solicited for questioning are good sources of information. I expect we will have other experts who can add to this study, and in fact I'll probably move an amendment at the end of my opening remarks here just to make sure we have a deadline for submitting witnesses.
Overall, these are important issues. Something else that might be useful, given the breadth of affordability and inflation issues that could be cited in this study, is that we might look to have an expert come in early to see the major drivers of inflation. We know about housing; we know about food, and we know about energy. One way we could prioritize what we're talking about is by determining which of those have been affected most recently. We could also prioritize according to the areas where we have the methods to bring in measures that could help Canadians most immediately.
Saying that, and saying thanks to everyone for being here today and bringing forward this important motion, I would move an amendment.
I move first that we amend the dates to remove Friday, January 28, for the same reason that Mr. Blaikie had for removing his date. It has to do with our caucus schedule and our regional caucus meetings, which lead into our national caucus meetings.
If that can be considered as a friendly amendment, and I look to Mr. Poilievre for that—