I wanted to pick up on Nathan's comments.
I want to compliment you and the senior staff, Mr. Speaker. I think you've done this well and in a collegial way. I know that my colleague who sits on the Board of Internal Economy has found it very constructive.
I don't have any questions, but when I listened to your discussion of the page program, I realized it's a neat idea the board has come up with to try to assist these young women and men with the high cost of tuition. That's a great idea.
Let's also think about the parliamentary guide program, not necessarily in terms of their salaries, as many of them are summer jobs or part-time jobs. I think they're some of the best and brightest bilingual people around. They can show Canadians their Parliament, and make them appreciate the role of the House of Commons and the work we do, together with the Senate.
My question is not about their remuneration. This is anecdotal from my riding, but perhaps it extends to other colleagues as well. I'm finding I have schools that want to come. They all want to come in June, when the weather is nice and they can organize bus trips. A number of schools from New Brunswick want to come to visit Parliament—often grade 8 classes—and they're trying to book visits depending on the bus schedules. Six or seven months before they come, they're told that, unfortunately, there's no space available. It's not possible for them to get a guided tour at that time.
I recognize it's a function of the size of the hallways and the traffic that has to be managed when people come through the building. Is it a function of the physical space of the building and the sequence of the tours, or could the problem be alleviated? I just feel bad for these students who want to come and are told in November or December that it's not possible during a certain window of time. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if it's a function of not having enough tour guides.
The practical reality is that you're going to get members of Parliament showing groups through themselves. You're going to find members of Parliament, me included, who are going to be trying to shepherd around 40 kids. We are not trained to do this and lack the information the guides would have. Your security personnel won't like the chaos this will cause.
Recognizing the physical limitations of the buildings, is there a way we can increase the staff available or extend the hours of the tours? I just find it unfortunate: they come to Ottawa and they see Sparks Street, but they can't get into the building for a proper guided tour. They are stuck with somebody like me trying to drag them into the library and through the lobby, which isn't the ideal way for them to appreciate Parliament.