Procedure and House Affairs Committee on May 7th, 2020

[The Clerk of the Committee, Mr. Justin Vaive]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

To add to what the chair has indicated, the meeting today is proceeding in public because of the House motion from April 11, which indicated that all virtual committee meetings are to be webcast on ParlVU to the public. That effectively constrains not only our committee but all committees, requiring them to hold their meetings in public and preventing the committee from considering matters in camera. That's the reason that today's meeting is public.

With respect to the issue of the markings on the draft report indicating “confidential”, that is a practice when draft reports are sent out. We mark them as confidential as a way to prevent a wider distribution of the draft report to people who aren't part of the committee or staff members working for them.

However, I should reiterate that the draft report is entirely your document. It is entirely up to the committee to decide how the document should be viewed, whether it should be viewed as something that is confidential or whether you want to share it more broadly. It is your working document and, at least initially, it's sent out to you, shared with you, under the usual practice, which is to indicate that it's a working document that is confidential.

What you choose to do with that, how you choose what kind of status you would want to give it, whether it be confidential or not, is entirely up to the committee to decide. Therefore, ultimately, it would be a decision for the committee to make with respect to this report.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

We have heard from the law clerk. I have one more announcement to make. I don't know how the members will feel, but since the request was made to me I think it's only fair to share it with everybody else.

Ms. May has been a participant in a lot of our proceedings, and we've allowed her to sit in. She has sent a request to me and the clerk to see if she can sit in during this proceeding. We have not sent her the invitation to sit in as yet, because I wanted to clear it with the members here today. Are there any objections or comments on that?

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Let's have this resolved first before we make that decision. Obviously determining whether this is confidential or not would be the first step in determining something like that. Let's do that and then we could make that determination. It would then be what the parameters are around her participation. Is it to listen in? Obviously one would need to be a member of the committee to provide recommendations, for example. Obviously her participation would be limited in that regard, but where would the limitations begin and end? I think we need to address the current conversation before we can get to that one.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

I thought to some degree we had.

If you could just put your hand up in the participants list.... If it's a new point of order, you can interject by saying point of order, but if it's to jump in on the conversation and the current point of order that has been raised, then just raise your hand in the participants list.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

I have a point of order, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Mr. Richards, you have a new point of order?

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Yes. You just said people were to raise their hands. Maybe the screen I'm seeing is different from the one you're seeing. I see seven people with their hands raised.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Yes. After you it's Ms. Blaney; you again, Mr. Richards; Mr. Gerretsen; and then Mr. Alghabra. Is that what you're seeing as well? That's what I'm seeing, and then Mr. Brassard and Mr. Turnbull.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

I don't see the order. All I see are people who have their hands raised. It shows me Ms. Blaney, Mr. Gerretsen and Mr. Alghabra.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Do you not see them in list order?

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

No, it just shows the people who have their hands raised. That's all I see. I don't know what order they're in.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

What does it matter? You don't see them when we're sitting in an in-person meeting. It's up to the chair to organize.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

I don't know if that was appropriate.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Order, please.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

I'm not suggesting it does matter, but it seemed to me you were indicating that hands weren't raised.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Mr. Richards, I think you will see it the same way I'm seeing it. I'll guide you through.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

I'm not concerned about being able to see the order. Maybe I just misunderstood what I thought you were saying.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

I mentioned this in the introductory remarks and at every meeting as well.

Generally when we're physically in a committee room, a point of order is raised sometimes even between other points of order. To establish that somebody is raising a new point of order I would request that you unmute your mike and raise the point of order. After that, whoever wants to speak to that point of order clicks the “raise hand” icon in the participants tab or toolbar, and then I'll know they wish to speak to that point of order. That's the way to keep it as orderly as possible as we do this virtually.

If you click on the participants icon on the bottom toolbar, then a list should pop up on the right side of your screen, and the order that the names occur on that list is the order of when they raised their hands. The order will switch continuously. You will see that the names will all of a sudden get switched when somebody else raises their hand, or takes their hand down. It's even more accurate than visually being in the room. Sometimes if I'm looking in one direction I'm unable to see in the other direction, and if people raises their hands at the same time, this gives me the real-time entry when they raised their hands. It's in the system.

Mr. Richards, is your issue addressed at this point? You seem to be next on the list now.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

I'm not sure. I don't recall raising my hand since I last spoke; that's a little curious to me. Maybe I did and forgot. I don't know.

Obviously my issue still hasn't been addressed. The concern still exists, but I didn't have anything new to—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Could you unraise your hand then at this point?

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Sure.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Chair, I have a point of order.

There is no French interpretation for Mr. Richards, as he is not wearing a headset. It has been like that from the start and I just wanted to mention it.

Personally, I am able to follow the discussion despite everything, but as soon as Mr. Richards speaks, there is no interpretation in French. I just wanted to point that out.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Thank you for raising that. I know the interpreters were having a problem with the sound, so let me find out.

Just so we can get the translation back up and running, Mr. Richards, do you have earbuds you can put in? Do you have earbuds perhaps instead of a headset that may assist?

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Sure, but that doesn't provide a microphone.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Do you have earbuds that have a microphone? A lot of them tend to have a microphone these days.