Mr. Chair, since we have just this moment received the documents that you have listed, I have to say something. I would imagine my colleagues are disappointed to have received these documents just before they are supposed to begin the clause-by-clause study of the bill. It's really a shame.
I've glanced very quickly at all of the proposed amendments, and it appears that virtually all of them were received on February 10, with the exception of one amendment received on the 27th. I would imagine that members would have appreciated receiving these documents earlier and having the time to examine them. I have the feeling that an assumption is being made, namely that had we received them earlier, we would not have examined them anyway. On the contrary, I think we would have examined them. The process might take longer if we were to ask that each item in these documents be explained to us.
As I see it, circulating documents at the very last minute is not standard operating procedure. I merely wanted to point that out. Getting documents at the last minute is unpleasant. We had attempted to contact people to see if they were available, but we did not get a response. Now, we know what that response is. It's disheartening.