Thank you for that, Madam Chair.
I know we're going to have to get to our next panel fairly soon, here, and I appreciate that we had extra time to talk about this, and will have...at the end.
You know, I said it, and I'll say it again: I'm willing to explore the idea of adding an extra hour per committee. I'm willing to explore that, because one of the things that are very important to me is continuing to do what we can to build trust. There's definitely a fear around this table about losing, one way or the other. What would help me understand and feel more faith in the process...because I agree with Mr. Cooper, quite frankly. It's disheartening, to me, to open up...online and see so many newspaper articles exposing yet another thing, and to feel like the transparency is not there.
I understand that, again, we can go into the whole, complex conversation about national security, but it feels.... It's hard. Then, I have to go back and talk to my constituents. I feel a real obligation to get some of this work done. Everybody knows how I feel about a public inquiry, so my recommendation is that we need the subcommittee meeting, where we can look at the options and make a plan. If there's a plan all of us can get behind—or the majority of us can get behind—that allows us to continue to look at foreign interference, there will be an ability for us to test the waters, then decide whether we have faith, after that.
I think, to me.... Again, I'm a planner by nature. Anyone who knows me will tell you that. I appreciate the hard work that went into this plan, but there are some gaps in this plan that should be addressed. If we could build something we can agree on, maybe we could then, at least, take a period of time to check it out and see whether it works with that extra hour. I recognize.... I get asked, all the time, about committees extending time. It's not very easy. There are a lot of frustrations, and we have to honour not our political world but the people who actually do the work to make those committees happen. I want us all to be very careful, because we're asking people to do more work, and there are challenges to that, which we're still working through, on that level.
I'll leave it at that, Madam Chair.