Evidence of meeting #49 for Status of Women in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was hoeppner.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Angela Crandall  Committee Clerk, House of Commons

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC

But is this committee business?

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

It is obvious that Madame Demers says this is committee business. The only thing on our agenda today is committee business, so it is actually appropriate for Ms. Demers to bring forward this motion on committee business.

Yes, Ms. Hoeppner.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

May I just say, Madam Chair, that I find it appalling. You've made your ruling on the previous motion. I think when the general public hears this and finds out that talking about commemorative ceremonies for women is somehow not committee business, but commemorative--

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Are you challenging the chair?

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

No, I'm saying it is part of--

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

You can't return to what I've already ruled on, so let's speak to this one.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Well, I have a right to speak. I do have a right to speak, Madam Chair.

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Yes, you have a right to speak but to this issue. If you speak to the other issue, you are challenging the chair.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

I'm saying you already made a ruling, and when I look at the past ruling and then I look at this ruling, it's totally inconsistent. When this is publically--

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Then you are challenging the chair. Shall we move to that?

Are we moving to challenging the chair? You have just said to me that--

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

It is inconsistent.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

--my ruling on that and on this are totally inconsistent.

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

I would just suggest to you--

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Do you wish to officially challenge the chair, Ms. Hoeppner?

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

It probably would not do any good, unfortunately.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Well, no, if you want to challenge the chair, feel free. I don't take offence, because the bottom line here is that I've made a ruling, and Mr. Van Kesteren, whose motion it was, will not challenge the chair. So we're speaking to this particular motion and the appropriateness--

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

So you're saying this is in order.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

It is in order because it speaks on what this committee will do. It doesn't ask for all--

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

May I speak--

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Excuse me, Ms. Hoeppner.

It does not, as the first motion did, speak to all commemorative ceremonies and to all parliamentarians, which is what made that out of order. That's the purview of the Speaker and of Parliament when you start speaking about all parliamentarians and all commemorative ceremonies. We don't have the opportunity to say that a commemorative veterans ceremony therefore falls under this. It says “all ceremonies”, so basically we don't have that authority.

But here we're asking the committee to do something. The fact is that the committee cannot rule in perpetuity about what other committees will do. Anything we agree on here with regard to this only holds for this committee. If the committee changes in another session, it no longer holds.

I am just giving you that for information so you will decide whether you wish to debate this motion or not. If you don't wish to debate the motion, somebody could move that the debate be adjourned and then we will take a vote on it and move on.

Ms. Duncan, welcome to the committee. You wish to say something.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON

Thank you.

I would like to speak on this. I really like the motion. I think 1995 was a watershed moment in Canadian history. The World Health Organization has looked at what the costs of gun violence are. Canada is held up as one of the countries that has, for the small cost of that gun registry.....

If you give me a minute, I'll come back to what the numbers actually are.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

Lise Zarac Liberal LaSalle—Émard, QC

Maybe I can add to this, then.

May I speak?

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Yes.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

Lise Zarac Liberal LaSalle—Émard, QC

I support Ms. Demers' motion. I received a letter from Ms. Laplante-Edward, the mother of one of the victims, and I would have liked to have had a copy of it here. In this letter, this woman mentions how important the gun registry is. The letter includes two pages in which she pleads with MPs to keep the gun registry in order that a situation such as that which occurred never repeat itself.

I would have liked to have been able to provide you with the translation today but, unfortunately, we did not have the time to do it.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Ms. Duncan, are you ready to resume your point?