Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, colleagues.
I'm conscious of the fact that the bell is going to ring for a vote soon; therefore, I'll be very brief.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to move the following motion, notice of which was given last week to the committee. The motion, of which the committee has a copy in English et en français évidemment, would read as follows:
That, in order to determine whether Section 119 of the Criminal Code and Section 41 of the Parliament of Canada Act currently serve as effective deterrents in preventing attempts to bribe Members of Parliament, this committee hold additional meetings specifically for the purpose of conducting an immediate study into allegations that Chuck Cadman was offered financial inducements in exchange for voting with the Conservatives in the House of Commons.
Mr. Chair, that would be the text of the motion. I understand a colleague may wish to make a friendly amendment in a second.
Mr. Chairman, you'll notice that we've asked for additional meetings. Many colleagues have been at this table longer than I have, and I respect that this committee has, up until now, and certainly from my experience at the committee, worked in a collegial, non-partisan way, with a very heavy agenda because of the legislation that ultimately is referred to this committee. In no way are we seeking to disrupt that process. We're not seeking, I hope, to make the committee more partisan than necessary. That's why we'd like additional meetings.
Mr. Chairman, in our view, there should be three or four additional meetings. That would probably conclude the matter. And if this motion passes, we would then hope the steering committee could quickly look at a list of witnesses and schedule perhaps our first meeting for the beginning of April.
Merci, monsieur le président.