Mr. Chair, I just want to ensure that everyone around the table is aware of the subject of the decision we're preparing to make. When we first sat as new members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, we adopted rules determining the amount of time that would be allowed for opening remarks and the questioning of witnesses.
Witnesses have five minutes for their opening remarks. The time allotted for the first round of questions is 6 minutes for the Conservatives, 6 minutes for the Liberals, 6 minutes for the Bloc Québécois and 6 minutes for the NDP. That's 24 minutes. Adding the witnesses' 5 minutes, that comes to 29 minutes.
We now have before us a proposal under which four ministers would appear at two meetings, so one hour per minister for two meetings. Barring any changes, if there are no technical difficulties, votes or other setbacks, we would logically conclude on December I.
I've submitted a notice of motion. On Tuesday, my colleague Mr. Drouin told me that notice was public because I had read it out loud. As regards Ms. Ashton's proposal, I understand that she's trying to undo something, and that's all to her credit.
Now, under my proposal, two hours would be allotted for each minister, including representatives. Unlike mine, Ms. Ashton's proposal wouldn't include representatives. Thus, if one hour is allotted for each minister over four hours, that means two hour meetings, consisting of one hour for each minister and his or her representatives.
My Bloc colleague is proposing a minimalist format that wouldn't allow us to ask in-depth questions. It means there would be four members of the Conservative Party of Canada…