I understand where my colleague is coming from on this. But the chair does not get to vote unless there is a tie. If there weren't a Conservative member on the subcommittee, the Conservatives wouldn't have a vote unless there was a tie. With a four-person system, which leaves three others who would be voting, you would never have a tie, which means that the Conservatives would never get to vote in the subcommittee.
On November 14th, 2007. See this statement in context.