Evidence of meeting #11 for Afghanistan in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was officials.
A video is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
How is national security affected by whether or not a legal opinion has been provided?
Liberal
Mélanie Joly Liberal Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC
Ultimately, the most important thing to know right now is whether we can help Canada change things on the ground in Afghanistan.
Bloc
Liberal
Mélanie Joly Liberal Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC
Any opinion sent to the minister is necessarily secret, as my colleague knows very well.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
I hope the journalists are listening to this.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Thank you very much, Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.
Now we'll go to Madam Kwan for six minutes.
Please go ahead.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the minister and her officials for coming to our committee.
Has your office received any legal briefings from Justice on how Canada can ensure those doing humanitarian aid work are not going to be deemed to be in violation of Canada's anti-terrorism law?
Liberal
Mélanie Joly Liberal Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC
You're essentially asking questions similar to what Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe asked me in French, Jenny.
My answer would be similar to what I said in French, which is that if it's the position of the NDP, in the context of this committee, regarding the fact that there should be an amendment to the Criminal Code, which doesn't have an impact on—
Liberal
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
I'm sorry. I'm going to interrupt.
Mr. Chair, I'm just going to interrupt for a minute. I don't need to get the answer in English, because I heard it through translation, Mr. Chair.
Liberal
NDP
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
I'm sorry. From now on, I would ask all honourable members to go through the chair so that I can control this better. I would love to give time for the minister to respond. If a member has to interrupt, then they should come through the chair and let me be respectful of the time.
Please go ahead, Madam Kwan.
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
On a point of order, Mr. Chair, I just want to get clarification with you, then. I asked the minister a question which was basically a yes-or-no answer. I don't need the minister to tell me in English what she said in French, because we have fantastic interpreters who are doing that job. I am wearing my headpiece and I can understand the answer.
I'm actually seeking an answer, not a repeat of the answer. If I could direct the minister to answer the question, Mr. Chair—
Liberal
Yvan Baker Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON
Chair, I think the issue here is just that the member asked a similar question and the minister was giving a similar response. I think that if the member didn't want a similar answer she shouldn't have asked a similar question. I also think it's important to be cordial. Literally three seconds into the minister's response, the minister was interrupted. I just don't think that's respectful.
Chair, I just think that the minister should be given at least a few moments to respond to the question, basically, before the member jumps in, whether it's through you or otherwise.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
I'm sorry, Mr. Chair, that really wasn't a point of order, though.
I would appreciate actually an answer. It was a different question.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal
Madam Kwan, let's stop it here.
Madam Kwan, if you could give me a few seconds now, as you know, I have always been respectful. I've never intervened when you've had direct conversation, but for the sake of argument, let's talk through the chair, and then I will make a decision.
Even if the minister takes a few seconds longer, I will make sure, Madam Kwan, that your time has been compensated. I have stopped the watch, okay?