Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the member for Winnipeg North answered my call and asked me a question; it lowers the temperature of our debate.
Of course the composition of a committee plays a role, but that is only part of it. To be honest, calls get made, missions get organized. Earlier on, I held the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food up as an exemplary committee, but something really unpleasant once happened to me. I once asked a colleague a question only to be told in response that we all have a job to do. What did that mean? It meant that a call came in from on high. In political parties, I think that the will has to come from the top, and I think that could be improved a lot. That is obvious.
In answer to my colleague's example about the motion, I would tell him that it depends on the study. It is like when another colleague told me earlier about a time that witnesses were not heard, but he gave me no context. There may have been a specific context involved. To answer the question from the member for Winnipeg North, a motion like that could be a valid part of a study if it were necessary to travel to see people, but it might also not be valid. It depends on the interpretation, and that is part of the work done by committee members. If they are diligent, they will ask themselves serious questions and make the right decisions.