Evidence of meeting #1 for Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was hours.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:30 a.m.
Bloc
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC
Are we talking about the whip or the leader? That's fine. In our case, they are hard to tell apart.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rick Dykstra
As I understood Mr. Moore's request, it wasn't the leader's office. It was....
Could you repeat that, Mr. Moore?
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
Rob Moore Conservative Fundy Royal, NB
Well, just to say “one party staff”, or something to that effect, to encompass the whip's office, the leader's office, the House leader's office--just as long as it's one staff member from each party.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rick Dykstra
Do we have agreement on the amendment?
(Amendment agreed to)
(Motion as amended agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
11:30 a.m.
An hon. member
So moved.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
We certainly wouldn't be televising an in camera meeting. It's a broad statement that all the meetings will be.... I don't know what kind of a proviso we might have. How about “All meetings shall be televised except those that the committee decides shall not be”?
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rick Dykstra
How about if we insert, if I could so suggest, that the committee's public meetings be televised?
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
There's a difference. I just don't want to prejudge the committee, if the committee decides later not to televise a particular meeting for a particular reason.
Occasionally we've had the odd--
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rick Dykstra
We don't have an amendment on the floor. If we could just get an amendment, Mr. Lee, then we could speak to it.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
“That the committee meetings be televised unless otherwise decided by the committee.”
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
Gerald Keddy Conservative South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS
I don't think we need an amendment to that, that committee meetings be televised. A committee meeting that's in camera is a statement already that it's private and not televised. Regular committee meetings are what we're talking about here. That's pretty standard formula for any committee anywhere in the House. I don't think you have to amend that. We televise them if possible.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT
The point Mr. Lee is making is that we may choose to televise some of our meetings. We'll just leave that at the discretion of the committee.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
Daniel Petit Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Could you read your amendment about broadcasting to me again? I have to say that I am confused. So I would like you to repeat it, so that I can make up my mind and say what I want to say. I want to be sure of the words.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rick Dykstra
Okay.
The amendment that's on the floor right now is that the committee's meetings be televised unless otherwise determined by the committee. That's the amendment that's on the floor right now.
Mr. Petit.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
Daniel Petit Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
If you will indulge me, I do not think that the amendment is necessary. The committee of which we are all now part is an important one, I think we will all agree. All our meetings must be televised. The decision yes or no cannot come from inside the committee. The meetings have to be televised in order for the committee to achieve its goal. If not, it could all be left up to the good will of committee members and this time it will be yes and another time it will be no. You know very well that that could be dangerous. We could end up with five meetings televised and five not. That is why I think that the amendment is not needed and that we should keep the text as it is.
11:35 a.m.
NDP
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
I'll support the motion.
I'll just draw the committee's attention to the fact that for part of this bill, the former Bill C-22, the age of consent, when we went through that in the previous session there was a reasonable amount of sensitive testimony that came forward from people who had been victims of sexual abuse. I could see there would be a need for sensitivity on the part of the committee to decide that, if requested, assuming we're going to go back to that testimony, we would give them the opportunity to not have to be telecast across the country.