Thank you. I want to follow up on the comments that I made last Thursday.
I want to remind everyone, first of all, that my reason for speaking to my amendment at length was to try to get members' support and for everyone to hopefully see the reason in removing the final sentence of the original motion, which my amendment does. It's one of the two things that it does, and that is so that it doesn't block up more legislative time in the House. I spoke to that in great detail.
Even today, we're seeing that we need Bill C-14 to pass in order to make sure that small businesses and Canadians get the supports they need.
My intention was completely so that all the members on this committee recognize that this motion does something beyond what I think is reasonable in this circumstance and that this committee should be looking at the matter of COVAX.
I definitely think we should be bringing forth the minister—hopefully, if the committee agrees—to talk about the situation, and perhaps we would turn it into an in-depth study on the matter.
I also take contention with the fact that it was mentioned in the House over and over again that the reason behind my persistence on this amendment was to block the Uighur report that was done by the subcommittee on human rights. That was absolutely not the intention. It was just the order of things that were scheduled for that day.
I was not prepared or ready to go to a vote on this matter, because I think we really need to understand the gravity of the motion that's before us if not amended. That was purely my intention, and that alone. I want to clarify that I didn't appreciate that the two things were conflated when they had nothing to do with each other.
I'm hoping that if I give up my place on the floor, perhaps Ms. McPherson will, in her remarks, since she's next on the speakers list, be willing to move in a slightly different direction. Of course, I don't mean moving away from the issue of COVAX, but in the way we go about studying that issue.
That's all I have to say for today. Thank you very much.