We did have a steering committee under Mr. Cannis's mandate in the 38th Parliament. It worked very, very well. It actually saved us a lot of time at the committee level because the parties were able to sit down and agree on an agenda beforehand.
In the 39th Parliament, we did set up a steering committee. Your predecessor essentially stopped the practice of having the steering committee meet. In every Parliament, we've set up a steering committee. It would save an enormous amount of time to have a steering committee meet and agree on the agenda, so it makes eminent sense to do that. In other committees I've been part of, such as the transportation committee, having the steering committee has meant saving committee time.
If our concern, as the Conservatives have said, is about having witnesses brought forward and ensuring that we're maximizing our time with witnesses, it makes a lot more sense to discuss the agenda and the procedure with the representative of the Liberal Party and the Bloc, and the Conservatives will be there as well, and the NDP, and you. In that way, we hammer out that consensus and bring it forward to the committee. It saves an enormous amount of time and it allows for us to move forward and do all the work that we need to get done. Since we've set it up in every single Parliament, it makes sense to set it up for the 40th Parliament.