The decision we are getting ready to make this morning, I hope, may very well be our most important ever. We must be able to leave this room with a consensus in hand. If we want to talk numbers, we can take a different view and say that we have a broad consensus, given that two parties out of three already agree on a potentially acceptable amendment.
Beyond that, what I consider crucial is our ability to reach a unanimous agreement on this process, so that every witness who comes before us in the weeks ahead knows they are appearing before the Standing Committee on Official Languages, not a group of Liberal, NDP and Conservative representatives assigned to the official languages file. They should not have to tailor their remarks in order to please the government majority or side with the opposition in the spirit of partisan politics. I consider it extremely important that we at least be able to look as though we can work together.
I hope we can do more than just look the part, but in order to manage that, we must take the symbolic first step and come to a unanimous agreement on the order of questioners during our proceedings. As for the order I am proposing, clearly, the government side needs to give a little more, I realize. But this doesn't seem to be a crime of lèse-majesté. Over the next few minutes, I think we can agree on an order that respects all the basic principles we have been talking about for two weeks now, as well as this committee's tradition of giving even the third party the floor in every round. I don't think this goes against any of the principles previously established by committee members before me. The proposal incorporates all the principles that have been addressed in our discussions.
I appreciate this may be a sensitive matter for some; we all feel some level of discomfort with this solution. But since we have not been able to find a better compromise so far, this is the one we should go with, in my view. This compromise truly has the power to please all three parties.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.