Yes, Mr. Lemieux.
Evidence of meeting #39 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 40th 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.
Evidence of meeting #39 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 40th 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.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Thanks.
I'd like to put forward a motion that we continue with our committee business. The opposition burned through, basically, an hour on a motion.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
I've put forward a motion, Chair, that I want us to continue with committee business, because the opposition has burned through an hour.
I'm going to comment on my motion. My comment is that we don't leave enough time for committee business. We are always behind on committee business, and the opposition just burned through an hour. We can deal with the rest of these motions in about five minutes if the opposition will just cooperate and stop the filibustering.
There's my motion, Chair.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
It is their prerogative if they want to talk about the motion. You know that.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
That's fine, Chair. My motion still stands.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
On a point of order, Mr. Chair, there was an agreement at this committee. It is in the minutes, and it is on the schedule. At 4:30 we are to hear witnesses. That is what we agreed to do. There's the Ontario-Quebec Grain Farmers' Coalition. There's the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food. That is who we are here to hear at 4:30. That was the agreement. I expect it to be....
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
Thank you, Mr. Easter.
I'm going to ask the witnesses to come forward, and unless--
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
On a point of order, there's a motion on the floor, Chair, and you can't ignore it. The motion is that we continue with committee business.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
I've already put a motion on the floor. You must deal with it.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Chair, there's a motion on the floor. You must deal with the motion. The motion is that we continue with committee business.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Storseth Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB
On a point of order, Mr. Chair, if I could just make one salient point, it is the fact that this can take five minutes if the opposition chooses not to filibuster for the next hour.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
Well, the clerk has informed me that, yes, you can go forward with your motion. But I'm very disappointed in how this meeting is going, because we have these witnesses who have come forward. To do these motions right, it's going to take at least another hour. That's the way it works here. Anyway, it's your call.
Are you suggesting that the witnesses leave the room?
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
No, I think the witnesses can wait until we conduct some more committee business, Chair.
I think you're in an unfortunate position. The opposition has burned through an hour's worth of time over a motion that they all voted for.
The motion stands, Chair, and we need to bring it to a vote.
You all voted for the motion, but you burned through an hour.
4:35 p.m.
The Clerk
As I understood it, it was that the committee keep going with committee business.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Mr. Chair, I believe when you started the meeting you said that the committee would go until 4:30. There was no objection from the government side at the time. So a debate on one motion has taken place and it's been voted on.
Mr. Chair, we've seen this constantly from this government. When they want to play games, the usual chair never shows up. We usually do business at the end of the meeting so the witnesses are not jeopardized--
4:35 p.m.
An hon. member
It was your idea.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
No, it wasn't. It's so that witnesses are not jeopardized in case we go longer on committee business.
We on this side have followed the rules and have followed what we thought was an agreement. As usual, the government members compromised that agreement. It's one of the reasons we have no trust anymore in either the chair of the committee or in some of the government.... So that's the reality of the world.
You guys play games by the chair not being here as he was supposed to be. If he has problems--