Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much to the witnesses for their thoughtful presentations.
I'm going to pose my first question to Equal Voice.
You cited some data around work-life balance. I will challenge that a bit. I agree that it's very important that we try to strive for work-life balance, to the degree that it is possible in a demanding job like that of a member of Parliament. The reality is that it is tough on families. It is tough on couples. There's no question about that. At the same time, we sit for 26 weeks a year. For nearly half of the year, we're not sitting in Ottawa. We can be back at home in our ridings. There are constituency weeks.
When we are here, the days are often incredibly long. I got into the office at 8 a.m. this morning. The House is sitting until 10 p.m., due to a take-note debate. I'm going to be participating in that debate. I don't expect that I'll be out of here before probably 10 p.m.
My constituents appreciate that when I'm here, I'm debating legislation and studying legislation at committee. When I'm back in the riding, I'm attending events and meeting with constituents. Of course, my staffers are meeting with and helping constituents every single day.
From a work-life balance standpoint, how does it enhance the work-life balance, given the demands of what happens on a day-to-day basis when the House is sitting, and coupled with what will inevitably be the expectation that you're at community events at the same time?