Evidence of meeting #1 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was going.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Clerk of the Committee  Mr. Chad Mariage
Dara Lithwick  Analyst, Library of Parliament
Sebastian Spano  Analyst, Library of Parliament

9:20 a.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

I would go back to our offer on the second: New Democrat, Conservative, New Democrat, Conservative, Liberal, Conservative. The idea of having two Conservative members at the end....

I just think it's fair to give the Liberals a spot.

9:20 a.m.

Conservative

Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON

That's fine. We'll throw a Liberal spot in between the last two Conservative spots.

9:20 a.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Okay.

I just think in the long term, it's better that people feel that they're heard at the table. Otherwise, if someone doesn't feel they're heard, if they're frustrated, we're going to get to filibustering, and someone can cause problems on this committee. I think if people have that extra spot in which to speak, then we can carry on our business.

9:20 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

Does everyone understand the proposal in front of us? It's essentially everything on the top half there.

9:20 a.m.

An hon. member

Can someone do it from memory?

9:20 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

That's unlikely. We're going to write this one down.

Could I have someone move that motion, whatever that motion says?

Thank you, Mr. Del Mastro.

We'll work out the language, but that's essentially what it will look like.

All in favour?

(Motion agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])

Great.

So that takes us through to the end. We've done the time allotted to witnesses.

I'm just wondering if we have anything else, Chad, that we have to move through today.

9:25 a.m.

The Clerk

No, unless there are other motions.

9:25 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

Right.

Are there any other motions that folks need to put up today?

Russ is giving me the yank.

9:25 a.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

9:25 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

I'm going to bang the gavel in a second, but I'm going to ask committee members, and only committee members, to stay for 10 minutes at the end of this. We have a couple of quick things to do. We're going to do them in camera, though, with no record. The only staff I will ask to stay are the translators.

Could I have the committee's privilege to do this?

9:25 a.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

How about five minutes?

9:25 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

Give me ten, Charlie, come on; negotiate. Or do you have somewhere to be?

Oh, before we do this, then, the question of potentially talking about future business, does the committee wish to gather...? We have the room allocated for Tuesday morning next to talk about what we might want to get to into the fall.

The committee has done a series of studies and some work--Ms. Davidson, you would know this better than any of us--and there is the perspective that we gather for a short amount of time next week to be able to say what we want to begin getting into, and to have some description from the analysts as to what this committee has been up to over the last little while.

One of the worst things when you get on a new committee is that you start to reinvent the wheel, right? You start to rehash things that have already just been studied. You waste taxpayer money, frankly, by calling similar witnesses, etc.

Does it seem profitable for folks if we gather for, I'm suggesting, an hour on Tuesday?

9:25 a.m.

Conservative

Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON

An hour? Sure.

9:25 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

One hour on Tuesday?

9:25 a.m.

Conservative

Russ Hiebert Conservative South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC

How about 9:45?

9:25 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

Would you like a little later start there, Mr. Hiebert?

9:25 a.m.

Conservative

Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON

No, I have House duty, so starting at 8:45 is great.

9:25 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

You just got overruled, my friend.

9:25 a.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

9:25 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

Mr. Angus.

9:25 a.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

I'm not averse to it. I would suggest that our first order of business is to get up to speed on and to hear from the commissioners. We need to know what the four commissioners have done, what they're thinking.

I'm a little wary of planning out the fall now. I'd like us to hear the commissioners; I'd like us to talk. If there are going to be issues coming out of that, then we're going to be in a much better position at that point to make a plan.

We'll probably want to get an update as well in September on what was done. I know the open government study is hanging. Whether or not we want to follow up, we'll get our analysts to just give it to us then.

Then I'd feel comfortable about plotting out the fall. I'm just really wary about--

9:25 a.m.

An hon. member

[Inaudible--Editor]

9:25 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

Okay.

So you folks are okay with that?

9:25 a.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Russ and I are starting to agree on way too much.

9:25 a.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Nathan Cullen

I'm finding this shocking.