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The Tories have compromised on the amount of time dedicated to hearing expert opinion on the government’s disputed anti-terror bill, setting aside eight days for witness testimony instead of three.

NDP members of the Commons’ public safety committee fought for 25 days of hearings and staged a marathon and at times testy committee sitting Thursday to make their point.

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But government members finally pushed through a late-day motion in a 5-4 vote, limiting testimony to eight days between March 10-31. Six witnesses are to appear each day. Combined testimony and committee questioning is limited to two hours a day, for a total of 16 hours of committee scrutiny.

“That is extremely reasonable,” parliamentary secretary for Public Safety Roxanne James said of the schedule.

Earlier Thursday, NDP committee members said 25 days of hearings were needed to accommodate an expanding list of national security experts and others who want to speak on Bill C-51. They suggested committee members remain in Ottawa during a parliamentary break next week to begin hearing testimony, including at night and on weekends if necessary.