Thank you. To the motion, since a couple of Members have raised the issue, I'd like to speak to the motion that's in front of us, Mr. Chairman. I think our report from our standing committee basically took into concern those as just stated by the two previous speakers. For the record, I'd like to again read the background to the committee assignments.

What our standing committee said was the two most common ways to allocate positions on committees are by interest or by ability. It is felt that the best way to allocate positions on committees is based on a combination of interest, ability and experience. Members are more likely to attend and participate fully if committee work is a topic of personal interest.

Members should be asked to provide to the Striking Committee a brief written request for the committees on which they are interested in holding a position. The Chairs' Liaison Committee's report proposes that Members provide a description of how their experience and interest would contribute to the work of each committee position requested. The Striking Committee would then try to balance the workload of Members.

In that regard, I think we're basically saying exactly what the two Members are saying; that it has to be fair based on their interests, their experience and ability and also try to maintain the east/west balance. I think that's covered in the motion that is before us. Mahsi.