Mr. Chairman, one of the positive aspects of a minority government—and I'm speaking from experience on two previous occasions—is that nobody can really lay down the law and limit debate. Nobody can use the guillotine to do this. As a parliamentarian, I find that to be one of the most interesting aspects resulting from a minority government situation.
After voting, we put forward an approach that my colleague Mr. Volpe qualified, and rightly so, as constructive. We said that we'd look for some sort of middle ground in order to reach our common objectives. And that is still our wish on this side. The fact that the government is bent on railroading this process will jeopardize what is supposed to be a constructive approach.
I want the parliamentary secretary to put an end to this, to withdraw the amendment, and to support the motion to suspend our business until next Wednesday. This would give this constructive approach a chance at satisfying everybody's needs. If we can't do this, in all likelihood the debate will drag on throughout the evening and night, and we'll end up wasting a whole lot of energy, and that certainly wouldn't be constructive.
I'd appeal to the good faith of everyone around this table to give this constructive approach a chance.