Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) Committee on May 3rd, 2006

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Here again, you can see how cooperative we are. I agree with Mr. Poilievre's proposal to submit the lists tomorrow. However, we would like to be able to add to the list between tomorrow and Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Then we would set a deadline. Our intention is not to add witnesses to the list just for the fun of doing so. We do not want to set deadlines either. For example, we could submit a preliminary list tomorrow and a more complete list next week.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

I disagree. We should give the chair a list so that he can draw up a full work plan for our committee, rather than getting endless lists from members.

My motion is that we invite the President of Treasury Board. I would like to know whether committee members support the motion.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

We're going to deal strictly with the Treasury Board.

(Motion agreed to)

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

It appears to be unanimous.

Now I want to talk about what we do next.

Monsieur Sauvageau.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

I should have been on that list.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Well, you're not, Mr. Martin, but you're going to be afterwards.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

I don't know how you get recognized on the list.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

And I keep leaving Mrs. Jennings off the list, but she hasn't looked at me for a while.

Let's not fight, people. I'd like to keep this moving.

Mr. Sauvageau.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

I have a difficult time getting recognized.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

All right, Mr. Martin, go for it.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Using any conventional manners, you don't get recognized.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Absolutely, Mr. Martin. You go right ahead.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

I was simply going to say that given the sheer magnitude of the document we're going to be dealing with, it wouldn't be unusual to have a couple of days with the technical advisers. Usually when we have the minister, it's a formal presentation; it will be a chance to have an informal exchange about the broad strokes of the legislation. But it's also not unusual to have two or three or four meetings with the technical adviser, so that we all understand all of the complexities of the bill. Then we can start hearing witnesses once we have achieved the same basic level of knowledge and are on an equal footing, because my colleagues on the other side, the parliamentary secretaries, have been steeped in this for months, but this is relatively new to us. I have a lot of technical....

So I don't think we need to have the total witness list early, because there are at least two or three days' worth of work with technical advisers as our witnesses.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

The reason I raised that was, what happens after the minister comes? That's all I'm asking; we have to know what happens next.

Ms. Jennings, and then Mr. Sauvageau.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

I am pleased at the suggestion that the President of Treasury Board appear before the committee. In addition, I think it is quite reasonable to ask committee members to submit a preliminary list. I think next Tuesday at 5 p.m. is a reasonable deadline.

Of course, once we begin meeting more often, one of the parties or one of the members may want to hear from other witnesses. It is normal practice to be able to add names to the list. It would be more up to the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure to meet soon to start planning the meeting schedule.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Mr. Martin, before we get into this, I just wanted it to be clear what you mean when you say technical people. Do you mean people from the ministry? What do you mean by that? Who are technical people?

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Ministers' advisers...I don't know, but the senior people who drafted the bill.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Okay.

Mr. Sauvageau.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Chairman, Ms. Jennings has read my mind.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Mr. Poilievre.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

I'll quickly say that the department has indicated they will be glad to make themselves available for any technical briefings that are necessary. I don't believe we need to use committee time for those briefings. The department is extremely flexible. They will meet you on your terms in your office, in the opposition lobby, or anywhere you need to meet them, basically at any time within reasonable business hours, to ensure that you're fully briefed on all the technical matters of this bill in the same way that all of us have been briefed.

I don't believe we need to spend three days of witness time on technical briefings that members can gather for themselves. We should be listening to the briefings, and we should be listening to the witnesses who are giving substantive testimony.

I should note that before any clauses are voted on in this bill, we'll go through clause-by-clause and there will be a technical briefing on every single clause. There's no clause that will go by, be passed, or be defeated without a detailed technical briefing on that particular clause.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Okay. I want to be clear. The minister is coming tomorrow morning. Unless the committee is going to use the entire time for the minister, I'm throwing out a suggestion to carry on with what Mr. Martin was talking about, to use his words, to use that time for technical people. Even if you wanted to have somebody after Minister Baird, there's not enough time.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Is it two hours tomorrow?

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

It's three hours tomorrow.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

If that's acceptable to the committee, then the parliamentary secretary to the minister will make the recommendation that they come tomorrow, and the members of the committee can be prepared for any questions. Is that fair?