Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
For the record, I want to say that in my opinion, my colleague Michel is trying to have us believe that only the Bloc members are taking the issue of veiled voters seriously, and that they alone can save the world. Michel, I think all political parties agree on the fact that there is a problem, one that we want to address and try to resolve.
As for the rationale behind the motion put forward, I think it is clear. Each political party has already made it clear that it wants to address both issues. The Conservative government has locked us out for next week, but we still have this week to hold meetings. Jack Layton has clearly stated that the government is locking us out for one month. That's no reason for not working this week, provided the government does not decide to prorogue Parliament when we adjourn today.
The quicker we get down to the items on the agenda, the better off we will be, because one of the things we need to do is decide on the witnesses that we will hear from initially. That is the gist of today's meeting. Then we can move on to the second problem. This week, there is no Question Period or any other committee meetings, which means that we can put in 12-hour days, if need be. Many workers in Canada are now putting in 12- or 16-hour work days. We could manage to do that this week. I don't think we should have any concerns on that score.
I recommend, Mr. Chairman, that we move right away to the first part of the agenda, namely selecting witnesses for the meeting. We'll have some time remaining and we can then speak to the second issue.