Thank you, Chair.
It's great to be back in committee with so many colleagues. This being our first meeting, it was important that get set up.
Congratulations to you, Chair, and congratulations to the vice-chairs.
I think it's a bit unfortunate that we're starting out this way, given the fact that we have Bill C-4 legislation to consider, which should be the priority, as is the formal practice of most committees on the Hill when the government has....
I want to acknowledge that we seem to have done a good job of standing all together in voting for Bill C-4. I believe it got unanimous consent, or it got the support of all members of the House of Commons who voted. It's great that it's now at committee. It's a bit unfortunate that we're spending a lot of time debating a motion, but it is the prerogative of members on the committee to bring forward motions. I totally understand that they're able to do so. I certainly would prefer to have an in camera session to consider committee business, where we could put on the table to study all the potential motions that each party has and come up with a schedule for the fall that would have us using our time very efficiently and effectively to get our business done.
I know that all of us as elected members of Parliament want to use our time. Time is the greatest resource we have. It certainly is important that we use it effectively, that we value each other's time and that we work to get things done. I know that Bill C-4 offers considerable tax relief for Canadians at a time when I know they need it. I think we can all agree on that. That's how members have voted in the House, so I know we have their support.
I know that this motion speaks to the desire that the Conservative Party has for an immediate budget. I find that interesting, to say the least, given the fact that their leader, Pierre Poilievre, who no longer has a seat in the House, would not commit in his 100-day plan to submit a budget. It's interesting that there often seems to be, from my just under six years on the Hill, a double standard with the Conservative Party and its members. If the election had turned out differently, I'm sure they would not be tabling a budget within the timeline they would have set out for the government. There was no commitment to do so, at least, which would indicate that there was no desire to do so or no willingness to do so.
Now, we just came out of a federal election—