Yes, I think we need to think this through.
First of all, on the issue of whether or not you can receive advice from the clerk open to the purview of the committee, Mr. Chair, you receive advice from the clerk and you decide whether you follow that advice or not. I don't think it's really relevant to the committee members what exactly that advice is. And I'd rather allow you to have a relationship with the clerk whereby you can receive advice without it being necessarily broadcast.
But on the more important issue, I value my membership on this particular committee, and I value the reputation of the committee itself. Let's call a spade a shovel here. At 23 witnesses for 10 minutes, you have 50 seconds, basically, or a minute and 10 seconds for opening presentations, and then you have two minutes and 20 seconds for questions and answers from each of the witnesses.
I'm sure we're not creating a circumstance here whereby witnesses are appearing with unrealistic expectations of what exactly it is the committee is going to be able to hear from them and receive from them, because at the end of the day, I'm of the belief that our committee's reputation gets sullied if they do come with unrealistic expectations, if there is a belief by any of them that they're going to get five or 10 minutes with the committee—all 23 of them or 12 of them in the case of Acadie—Bathurst.