It's a departure from past practice. One concern we might have is in terms of what the business is of the steering committee, and to have certainly a representative from each party. I was going to move an amendment following Mr. Dechert's intervention that instead of having the vice-chairs, to have representatives of the parties there. It would be the choice of the parties that are represented on the committee. It seems to be a little top-heavy for a steering committee. The idea of the steering committee is to be focused.
I also note there is concern around the business of committees being independent from the other operations. If we go back to the 1980s and the McGrath committee, the recommendations questioned whether parliamentary secretaries should be on committees for reasons that are quite obvious. Committees need to be independent from cabinet, etc. There needs to be a voice that is clearly independent, notwithstanding obviously that government members will bring forward the government agenda.
I'm not sure what the rationale is for having a top-heavy steering committee. I don't think it would be helpful in terms of the committee. I think it raises concerns around the independence of the committee.