Evidence of meeting #1 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Conservative
David Anderson Conservative Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
We'll both try not to be childish.
The 48 hours' notice we've had at this committee has worked well. The point of this motion is to try to make it fair for everybody, including members of the opposition.
The second part of that talks about the period of notice being calculated from when the motion has been distributed. We have traditionally accepted that and expected that we would have 48 hours' notice to treat people fairly at this committee. We can play. If you want to go one night before, everybody can start playing silly games, and we're going to have absolute chaos here. This is an opportunity to allow the clerk to distribute motions, 48 hours' notice—we're all on the same page—and then at the end there is a guarantee or a commitment that those motions come forward at the first committee meeting following the period of notice.
We've also been in a situation where we've had notices that haven't come forward immediately, and this brings that forward and allows members to bring their motion forward. It will be dealt with, and perhaps not finished at that meeting, but at least it will be brought forward. People can bring their motions forward, present them to the committee, and then the committee will decide what to do with them from there. Nothing here particularly benefits the government. I think it would clearly benefit the operation of this committee, particularly since we've worked on 48 hours' notice. We just want to make sure that 48 hours is fair to everybody, and that comes from the time the clerk distributes the motion. I don't think there's anything nefarious there. It's pretty clear, it puts everyone on the same page, and doesn't give us any particular advantage.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Bezan
For information's sake, this is the motion from the minutes of the last meeting, on May 4, 2006, moved by Mr. Steckle:
That except for amendments to bills, 48 hours' notice be given before any substantive motion is considered by the committee; that the notice of motion be filed with the clerk of the committee and circulated to members in both official languages; and that, upon receipt of the notice, the clerk shall put the motion on the agenda of the committee's next meeting.
Conservative
David Anderson Conservative Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
It's fairly similar, except it talks specifically about when the period of that 48 hours starts, so there's no question about it for any of us.
Conservative
Brian Storseth Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I've already sat on a couple of other committees this session that have dealt with this, and we've always received cooperation from the opposition, primarily the Liberals on this, because this is simply trying to clarify the procedure on it a little bit so we don't have any of the problems that happened within the Standing Committee on Official Languages, as Mr. Lauzon said. I have heard this.
Surely there are enough lawyers around the table who realize we can't be codifying things in sleeps here, just because the NDP sends its hired gun on procedural shenanigans into the committee. We need to have some level of professionalism in this committee; it's very important. We need to be doing things in hours, and something we can actually time. I think it's important that we codify this, and 48 hours' notice is the tradition we've used on just about every committee.
Conservative
Guy Lauzon Conservative Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON
The whole idea of this motion is to make it fair. I think if we all get it at the same time, whether it's 48 hours or 48 days, at least we're all running the same race. What happens now is that in some cases, for some people, it's not when I give it to the clerk, it's when you and everybody around the table gets it. So I don't have an advantage by making it....
That's the fair thing. That's what Parliament is supposed to be about and that's what this committee is supposed to be about--fairness. Everybody should get the information at the same time.
If we don't adopt this, then I think we're doing ourselves a real disservice. This is a professional motion, that's what I think.
Liberal
Ken Boshcoff Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Through you, Mr. Chair, may I ask which committees have passed this particular phrasing on motions so far this term, this session?
Liberal
Ken Boshcoff Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
No, I'm sorry, I'm asking Mr. Storseth, through you.
Conservative
Brian Storseth Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB
I'd have to look into that. I was on the aboriginal affairs committee yesterday, and there was no issue with it at all. As a matter of fact, it was just looked at as..... We left it open, and we put 48 in there.
Liberal
Ken Boshcoff Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
With the provision that the clock starts ticking after?
Conservative
Brian Storseth Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB
Yes. It was exactly as I've read it here, Mr. Boshcoff.
Liberal
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Bezan
The motion as presented by Mr. Anderson reads as follows:
That 48 hours notice shall be required for any substantive motion to be considered by the committee; and that the period of notice be calculated from the time the motion has been distributed to the members of the committee by the clerk of the committee; and that the motion shall be distributed to members in both official languages; and that all motions received by the clerk shall be placed upon the agenda of the first committee meeting following the period of notice.
All in favour?
We have a tie; Mr. Hubbard is abstaining. The motion carries.
(Motion agreed to)
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Bezan
The next motion has to do with rounds of questioning.This is the one that we've practised at committee since I've been here, which goes back almost four years. I'll read it out:
That witnesses be given ten minutes for their opening statement; that, at the discretion of the chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated seven minutes for the first questioner of each party; that before the second round of questioning, other members who have not spoken and who wish to speak may do so for five minutes; and that thereafter, five minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner alternating between government and opposition parties.
The rotation is Liberal, Bloc, Conservative, NDP, Liberal, first round. Second round is Liberal, Conservative, Bloc, Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Bloc. And the practice is that everybody at committee gets to have a question before it circulates back to anybody else, unless they choose to pass.
Mr. Bellavance.
Bloc
André Bellavance Bloc Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
What you have just read describes how we operate currently.
Conservative
