Information & Ethics Committee on Aug. 13th, 2008

[An hon. member]

Probably not.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

They will--

[An hon. member]

We don't get anything.

[David Campbell]

I'll describe them, then, if I can.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Order. Order, please.

The witnesses have provided us with copies of documents to be circulated. I have just received the--

[An hon. member]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Excuse me. The documents are here at the table, and they are being circulated. We waited until the proceedings started.

[An hon. member]

Why?

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

One is English only, and as you know our rules, I can't circulate things without.... I wanted to get the okay from Madame Lavallée first.

[An hon. member]

On a point of Order, Mr. Chair--

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

No. Order.

Madame Lavallée, please.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

As an exception, and I do mean "an exception", for the present purposes and given the urgency of the situation, the Bloc Québécois is prepared to agree to the document being distributed even though it is not in French.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Thank you.

Would you please distribute the documents?

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Yes, Mr. Goodyear, on a point of order.

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Chair, I would like to ask why you don't have Madame Lavallée's phone number? When did you receive these documents, and why weren't they handed out right away? Why did you not seek this type of accommodation prior to this? Why do you continue to withhold documents from these proceedings? When do you expect us to prepare for these witnesses when you're handing out the documents now--a whole box of which we still have not received? What is going on in this completely illegitimate forum?

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Thank you, Mr. Goodyear.

[An hon. member]

Don't even bother answering.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Order, please. Mr. Goodyear has asked a valid question about when I got the documents.

Mr. Campbell, could you advise the committee when I received the documents?

[David Campbell]

We brought the documents this morning, and it was just a moment ago when we brought them for distribution.

If I might add to that, the invoice is essentially numbers and markets. The letter is actually in both official languages.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Thank you.

I hope that's acceptable, Mr. Goodyear. The chair and the clerk just received these documents when the witnesses arrived this morning. Therefore, your conclusion about withholding documents, I think, was maybe premature.

I would like to now--

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

On a point of clarification, Mr. Chair--

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

No.

Order. Order, please.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

The Liberal Party also accepts that these documents are distributed, even though they're not bilingual.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Thank you.