I am sorry to interrupt you, but I would like to have some clarification about the presence here of a camera that does not belong to the House of Commons. In the few minutes before the meeting started, I had time to check into certain rules contained in a report on that topic. I find it surprising that this new practice has been introduced, although I am certainly not against televising our proceedings; indeed, as politicians, we want to share our work with the public. However, it is the first time that I have seen this happen.
During one committee trip—Mr. Dykstra will recall this because he was there—we had a major discussion about the issue, and the chairman agreed that the standing orders did not allow for cameras in the committee room other than those belonging to the House of Commons broadcasting service.
The explanation that we were given at that time was that certain standards and rules had to be adhered to so that the camera angles did not give an advantage to a given party, and so that no discussions were recorded without committee members being aware of it. There is also a need for some uniformity. In short, a certain number of parameters and arguments were presented to us.
So I would like a little more explanation from the chairman and the clerk, especially because we have the necessary equipment in this room to broadcast our proceedings. We have two cameras here that have been used for this purpose in the past. I would like an explanation as to why, in a last-minute decision and without anyone being notified, we have a camera here in the room recording this meeting.