Evidence of meeting #91 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Paul Chiang Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
I'm just making sure we're all here to vote on this matter. There's a motion in front of the committee, and we would like to review it just to make sure we are okay with everything.
I think we should be okay with voting for it, but give me a moment, please, Mr. Chair.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
We'll give you a moment—no worries.
Do you want me to suspend for a moment?
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you.
Is there consensus in the committee to carry the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
Go ahead, Madam Kwan.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Chair, there is so much consensus that maybe we'll have consensus here as well.
I seek the committee's support to ensure that after the minister comes to the committee as soon as possible on the Gaza-Sudan motion, we prioritize the motion on the international students, because that too is very current and urgent.
For the sequential order, we'd have the minister appear on Sudan and Gaza, and then the next priority would be the international students.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you, Madam Kwan.
I see that Mr. Redekopp wants to speak.
As soon as I'm finished, I'll give the floor to you, Mr. Redekopp.
We have many things going on. We have a letter to be drafted and a rapporteur coming in. In March, we are sitting for only one week, so we are already moving into April and May.
I will pass this on to the clerk, because he will prepare the schedule according to the will of committee members. He will then distribute it and we can make comments.
Mr. Redekopp, go ahead, please.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
Thank you for saying that. That's similar to what I was going to say.
We already have a standing motion that ministers are a priority second only to legislation, which we don't have before us at the moment. I would agree with my colleague Ms. Kwan that we need to prioritize the ministers' appearances. Since we have so few meetings in the next month, I would urge the chair and the clerk to work very hard to get ministers here for the few meetings we do have. I really encourage you in this regard.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Okay. Here's my question for the committee.
As we said earlier, on February 26 we bring in the rapporteur. Is everyone in favour of that meeting? The clerk will distribute the draft letter on Afghanistan on that date. On February 28, are we all in agreement to work on that letter? I'm asking so that the clerk can put a schedule together.
I'll give the floor to Madam Kwan and then to Mr. Redekopp.
Go ahead, Madam Kwan.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I would rather that, if the minister is available to come, we prioritize the minister's appearance before we get into debating the draft letter. I want to prioritize this because it is of the essence. For the other piece, we can do it according to our schedule. My preference is for the minister's appearance to be a priority ahead of the other work.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you.
I will now go to Mr. Redekopp, then to Madam Zahid and Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe. These are the only speakers I will be able to entertain, unless we have further resources.
Mr. Redekopp, go ahead.
1 p.m.
Conservative
Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK
I agree a hundred per cent. I think we have to prioritize the minister over everything else.
1 p.m.
Liberal
Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON
I also want to emphasize that point. The motion has been passed, and it's really important that we hear from the minister as soon as possible. We should schedule that meeting at the earliest availability of the minister.
1 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
I just want to make sure that our meeting with the special rapporteur won't be moved and that it's a sure thing, regardless of whether the minister is ready or available that same day. This is the last witness for our study on closed permits. We really need to wrap it up.
I just want to be clear.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Okay, everyone agrees with that.
We are already past one o'clock. Is there a will to adjourn the committee meeting?
1 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.