Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
First of all, I'll say that it's an honour to follow my friend Mr. Chambers. He and I have the honour of co-chairing an organization called the Parliamentary Friends of a Democratic Burma, where we work together to promote justice and human rights for the people of Burma. I will briefly plug the work of that group. It's open to all parties. It's been a pleasure to work with him on that, as well as to hear more tonight about his work and experience with economic issues.
I have a lot to say on the substance of the issue before us, but I want to begin by making some comments about the workings of this committee and respond to your disparaging personal remarks about me.
I'll begin by noting that I didn't read the Standing Orders yesterday. The Standing Orders of the House of Commons, which establish rules for the operation of this committee, include Standing Order 119, which states:
Any member of the House who is not a member of a standing, special or legislative committee, may, unless the House or the committee concerned otherwise orders, take part in the public proceedings of the committee, but may not vote or move any motion, nor be part of any quorum.
I think that section is extremely clear. That's not in some Speaker's ruling, commentary or supplementary—