Finance committee  Actually, maybe I'll just add to that as well, because I'm not sure how much time I have left.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, I might add to it, because I think it might be helpful to allow him to answer these all at once.

Finance committee  While you're explaining what that request is about, can you also indicate whether you consulted with small businesses about that? It's pretty clear, with regard to some of the stats I just read, that there are quite significant concerns amongst small business owners about the carbon tax and fuel charges.

Finance committee  My time is short.

Finance committee  What did they have to say?

Finance committee  Thank you. I have a few questions. Hopefully I'll have time for most, if not all of them. I want to start by asking if any of you have had a chance to see or read a couple of reports that have come out recently from different organizations. One of them is the Canadian Federation of Independent Business's February report.

Finance committee  Let me just give a couple of details from them that I think are relevant. Then I have a couple of questions that relate to this. In one report, we see that 87% of small and medium-sized enterprises oppose the carbon tax. Seventy per cent disagree that carbon pricing is a good way to reduce emissions and address climate change.

Finance committee  Not to try to continue the debate, Mr. Chair, but I think it is important as well because should that decision be that the meeting was not actually properly adjourned, the implication of course then is that obviously now we're—

Finance committee  These are important things, Mr. Chair—

Finance committee  —and so the bottom line is that if the last meeting, number 198, was not actually properly adjourned, that means it's still actually in session. Is that correct?

Finance committee  But you're indicating that you're going to have to verify that and come back with a ruling on it. I want to point out that this is not in any way intended to try to prevent today's meeting from occurring, but my concern is this: If we never adjourned the last meeting, how can we begin a new meeting?

Finance committee  I do, Mr. Chair. It's in regard to the last meeting we held. I want to get some clarification and a ruling on this. The way I saw the meeting play out, I think you suspended the meeting at 11:30 a.m. I will read a little from House of Commons Procedure and Practice in just a second, but if you look at the blues it shows that's what happened, that you suspended the meeting at 11:30 a.m.

Finance committee  No, just to clarify what you're saying, a request was sent to the minister, but was no response ever received that he was refusing to appear? Did he just not have the courtesy to even bother to respond to this committee to say that he wouldn't appear?

Finance committee  I have a point of order.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, may I speak to that point of order?