I think in essence the problem is that Mr. Hardie is combining substantively what we think we'd like to discuss with how we're going to govern our affairs. I think that's why it's not appropriate to put that last clause in.
A lot of the difficulties that we're facing in this committee are simply due to the fact that the vast majority of us are brand new to the House and to committees. Those who have been here before simply trust that we know what the processes are and always have been.
I would suggest that we stick with voting on my amendment to remove that clause, on the understanding that at some point in the discussion, we simply reiterate a common understanding of how parliamentary committees work. I am simply assuming that given the way parliamentary committees always work, it's not necessary to put it in, and it's probably varying from the way parliamentary committees have historically worked.
Historically the committee itself has decided on its priorities. We will often quibble on the number of days, because different people have different priorities. They may want more days for their study, or they may argue that it would cut out two witnesses who they feel are important.
The discussion about how many days are assigned actually is an important part of what the committee talks about. In the end, on what we agree to, usually the clerk works with the chair to make sure that in fact the schedule is set forth. The clerk is directed to start making the phone calls to the witnesses. That's generally the way the committee works. It isn't really necessary to sit here and....
We agreed in our first meeting on all the routine motions and the procedures and so forth. Those of us who have been here before just understand that committees always work in this way.
I would suggest that we remove this clause, and then at some point, either at the end of this meeting or at the next meeting, simply talk about how parliamentary committees generally proceed. We can, of course, pick our own rules, but if we don't think we need to reinvent the wheel and operate totally differently from other parliamentary committees, we could just have somebody—possibly the chair or the clerk—lay out how committees generally operate.
I think that's why you're seeing that two of us who have been here a while are having trouble with adding that into a substantive motion on what we're going to discuss. Then I think we can just have a more friendly discussion on our understanding of how committees proceed and who does what and so forth.
That would be my suggestion, and that's why we're suggesting that it be removed.