Mr. Chair, I sense that this meeting, which you opened by asking a question about how things work, will be very long.
You asked us, I would remind you and Mr. Hanley, whether we wouldn't be better advised today to continue our discussions on Mr. Berthold's motion and the agenda and studies we want to put in place, and then see what the analysts have to say about the documents that were sent to us today. You asked that question, hands went up, and you gave the floor to the first person, Mr. Hanley, who took us in a completely different direction and ignored your question.
If that is the way the Standing Committee on Health works, I understand that it will take two and a quarter hours before we can discuss and vote on Mr. Berthold's motion. I would point out to you that people are watching us and when, for the sake of consistency, you ask a question of this nature, I expect that the people who raise their hands are not simply trying to take advantage of their time to have the discussion focus on their motion. I expect people to be fair. When we are, we first and foremost answer the questions that the chair asks us when it comes to operational questions. It's common sense.
When Mr. Hanley started moving his motion, it seems to me that you should have called him to order and told him that he wasn't answering the question you had asked. You did ask a question, and I was expecting my colleagues who were raising their hands to answer it.
I would ask you to be a little disciplined in how we conduct our discussions because if we continue in this way, it will never end, and we'll spend the whole meeting trying to agree on an agenda.