Evidence of meeting #12 for Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was going.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:25 p.m.
Liberal
Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB
I was going to respond to Mr. Hawn, but I'm going to pass for the rest of the time.
5:25 p.m.
Liberal
Bryon Wilfert Liberal Richmond Hill, ON
Mr. Chairman, I notice that Mr. Dewar has taken my comments about the committee hearing from witnesses, “including, but not limited to”, which is what I had suggested would be a friendly amendment to add to this. Now he's taken it as his own, but he's only left his own three witnesses, which I find most intriguing.
There's an old oil commercial that says you can pay me now or you can pay me later. Either we put the witnesses up front now or we put them in later. I'm just trying to help by moving it along. Heaven forbid that I'm not helping with consensus. I'm a bit intrigued that Mr. Dewar would take my words and then leave it with his three witnesses and not include ours, since the whole idea was to put them up front. Put them up front; here are the witnesses.
I'm not going to withdraw the subamendment. Whatever happens, happens. But I will serve notice that as far as we are concerned, we intend to put these names forth regardless of whether they are accepted today or in the future. But I would have thought that from my colleague's perspective, having taken the words I put forward earlier, he would at least have included those in the subamendment, because it makes sense.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
Jim Abbott Conservative Kootenay—Columbia, BC
I would suggest to Mr. Bachand that if Mr. Bachand wants this to go through with unanimity, which is what he has said, if we go back to his original motion, that can happen.
I would also suggest to Mr. Bachand that what he is being sold by Mr. Dewar as a friendly amendment is in fact a totally separate issue from Mr. Bachand's motion. It is not a friendly amendment. What Mr. Dewar has said--and, Mr. Dewar, I do want to quote you accurately and I don't want to torque or change your words, but I wrote them down--is that you believe it would be to have hearings on the events of or surrounding the MPCC, the recent events....
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
Jim Abbott Conservative Kootenay—Columbia, BC
My point to Mr. Bachand, as the mover of this motion, is that what has happened here is that Mr. Dewar, as is his right, has explained that his objective is to have hearings on the recent events concerning the MPCC. Therefore, he wants to invite these four specific witnesses. That is really a separate motion from your motion, Mr. Bachand. It may be related, but it is totally separate. As a matter of fact, it is one that could and should be dealt with on its own, in its own right and in its own value.
I would suggest, with the greatest respect, that you consider that this is not at all a friendly amendment, but is indeed a totally separate motion.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rick Casson
Okay. We have two more, and then I'm going to bring this to a head.
Mr. Bachand.
5:25 p.m.
Bloc
Claude Bachand Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Chair, I sense that it is going to be very difficult for us to achieve consensus today. The committee cannot remain divided by this issue. After consulting my colleague and our assistants, I suggest that we adjourn now, because we have to go and vote in five minutes anyway. I do not want to rush this to a conclusion that will leave half the members of the committee frustrated and the other half thinking that they have somehow won. If we give ourselves another week and discuss it with our whips and other members, we could come to an understanding. This is a public session at the moment; we have fragile egos and we do not want to lose face. I do not want anyone to lose face, and I want us all to be winners. So we need a consensus that we do not have at the moment. I move that we adjourn and leave everything on the table just as it is at the moment, if that is in order.
