Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) Committee on March 3rd, 2008

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

That wouldn't give people enough time; it's a big country.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

I'm not sure, but that gives them five days.

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

I would like to suggest that we look at the end of day this coming Wednesday to give the whip the notice. It gives people a week in which to come. Some people are coming not just from Vancouver but also from Fort St. John, and that would give them time to get here, to book a flight, etc. I think a week is good notice, but anything less than that is not really respectful or appropriate.

[The Chair, Liberal, Albina Guarnieri]

Mr. Martin.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Actually, I was thinking that it was lots of time. We would like enough time to be able to really research the list of witnesses we'd like to recommend; we don't want to be rushed in this. Realistically, we'll probably only have one or two witnesses next Wednesday, so there will only be one or two people who would have to travel to Ottawa for that particular date. You could choose them from this immediate area. I think you'll probably want some constitutional experts, who may come from this capital region. You may want some experts on governance, and certainly you'll want provincial premiers and AGs from the various provinces now. The witnesses you choose for that first Wednesday can be people from this close geographic area—Quebec and Ontario.

So I think per Tom's first proposal, we would like at least until Friday to put our witness list forward. I'd like to support Tom's proposal.

[The Chair, Liberal, Albina Guarnieri]

Mr. Paquette.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Could we not agree to get as many names as possible on Wednesday and leave room to finish the list on Friday? Some names are easy to come up with, but we will have to scratch our heads to come up with others. If we could identify one or two each for this Wednesday and next, we could complete the rest of the list on Friday and plan our work for the following weeks.

[The Chair, Liberal, Albina Guarnieri]

That is reasonable, I feel. Any other comments?

We'll build in some flexibility so the clerk can reach witnesses in time.

We have one final matter of business. Who will decide on the list of witnesses? Will it be the subcommittee, or is it your preference to do it in the full committee?

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Since the subcommittee will be made up of party representatives, they speak for those representatives, so there shouldn't be any shocks or surprises. If there are, the subcommittee report can be debated, opened up, and overturned by this committee. So I would prefer that the subcommittee triage the list, or what have you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Albina Guarnieri]

Mr. Lukiwski.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

I apologize to the committee that I wasn't here when you had the discussion on the subcommittee. I always prefer that the committee as a whole deal with it, but that's a personal preference only. As I say, I wasn't privy to the discussion on the subcommittee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Albina Guarnieri]

We waited for you as long as we could.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

I know, and I apologize. One of the opposition members made a point of order that I had to respond to. Mr. Szabo was fairly long winded--not that he'd ever be long winded.

[The Chair, Liberal, Albina Guarnieri]

I think we're in agreement. You'll find me very short winded. I'm not very verbose at the best of times.

Madame Guay.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

I think that the subcommittee solution is best. That will allow us to work quickly. If not, people will come to replace others and they will not know what has gone on. I feel that the subcommittee is all we need.

[The Chair, Liberal, Albina Guarnieri]

Thank you, Madame Guay. So we're in agreement.

I certainly want to thank you for all the constructive contributions this afternoon. I hope we've had a record meeting here and that it indicates a spirit of cooperation amongst all of us.

The meeting is adjourned.