Mr. Chair, it gives me a chance to review the terms on which I appear before your committee in the motion you passed over my objections, which was not your fault.
The fiction is that every committee is the master of its own fortunes. However, somehow all committees pass identical motions all at the same time, saying that members in my situation have to appear if they want to put forward amendments that are substantive. I no longer have the right to do so at report stage, because I come to committee.
Part of that means I actually don't have the power to move my amendment at all; it's deemed moved. I cannot remove it either. However, I can convey to the chair that I'm extremely grateful to Pam Damoff for her efforts—we've conferred—and to Julie Dabrusin, for her efforts. If I had the power to remove my own amendment at this point, in favour of LIB-1, I would do so.
Sorry for having to complain about the onerous and anti-democratic nature of the motions that every committee has passed, but I am very grateful for the collaborative way in which this motion and amendment will move forward. I have no objection to having someone else at this table remove my amendment, but I don't have the power to do so.