Mr. Speaker, it is important. These issues are not new. They are ongoing, but the critical thing is that they are escalating. They are getting worse, and they require a response that we have not been able to accomplish to date. We have had four years and vast committees studying various issues, and obviously we are not getting to a point where it is making things better.
It is also important to note that having a special committee that focuses on China issues would amalgamate our efforts rather than being disjointed and disconnected with a multitude of committees and then trying to bring those together in a concerted fashion.
We would do an injustice to the importance of this study without having a very capable group of individuals from all parties to focus solely on this issue and not be distracted by other issues of government that we have to deal with in each of our committees.
I hope that my friend across the way would see that this is something we can work on together. It would improve the expectations Canadians have of us as well as what we are trying to accomplish, which is to care for Canadians, their security and their economic stability, as well as trying to improve relations where we can.