Evidence of meeting #1 for Bill C-35 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bernard Patry
There is a motion on distribution of documents by the clerk. Agreed?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bernard Patry
On notice of motion, that there be 48 hours' notice of motion.
Monsieur Ménard.
Bloc
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC
Mr. Chair, given that the proceedings of a legislative committee are not lengthy, we are proposing that the notice be 24 hours rather than 48 hours.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bernard Patry
You heard the amendment by Monsieur Ménard. Are there any comments concerning Monsieur Ménard's proposition? He wants 48 hours' notice to be reduced to 24 hours' notice for any substantive motion.
Mr. Lee.
Liberal
Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
Because we're a legislative committee, we'll get into motions...we may never. We'll only be amending the bill, and some of those motions can come up right at the time we're considering it. So this should be clearly understood as not applying to motions to amend the bill.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bernard Patry
That's understood. It doesn't apply when we're voting clause by clause and we have a motion from either side. It's for any other type of motion.
Conservative
Rob Moore Conservative Fundy Royal, NB
I think 48 hours' notice is entirely reasonable, so people have time to fully consider it.
Liberal
Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
In legislative mode, the committee has to be somewhat flexible in dealing with proposed amendments to the bill. We have not had a problem with this before. We always try to get our amendments in well in advance, but having a 48-hour rule would impair that.
I'm not even sure that the 48-hour rule as written here would apply to amendments to the bill, because there's an exception for business that is under consideration, which may include the bill.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bernard Patry
This doesn't apply to the bill itself and clause-by-clause.
Madam Jennings.
Liberal
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Why couldn't the notice required for a substantive motion to be considered by the committee be 24 hours rather than 48 hours?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bernard Patry
Monsieur Ménard is requesting it. That's why we're discussing 24 hours instead of 48 hours.
Monsieur Petit, s'il vous plaît.
Conservative
Daniel Petit Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
The 48-hours rule applies only in the case of a substantive motion that does not deal directly with the business then under consideration by the committee. In all other cases, it could even be introduced with a one-minute notice. It is only when the subject matter is not directly linked to the business at hand.
Conservative
Daniel Petit Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
This is the reason why I think that it could be 24 hours, or even one hour; we could decide that the notice required be one hour only. We have the right, I have the right to introduce a motion—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bernard Patry
Yes indeed, except that if you give notice of a motion that is not related as such to the bill, a 24-hour period could be sufficient since this must be sent by the clerk. In such a case, we are asking for a 24-hour notice.
Moreover, since you have so many hearings to attend to, I would suggest, in a subsequent proposal, that the legislative committee should meet on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Consequently, if the required notice is 48 hours, this could postpone the legislative committee's work for one week.
We have an amendment to 24 hours.
Mr. Moore.
Conservative
Rob Moore Conservative Fundy Royal, NB
Just to be clear, the 48 hours' notice is required for any substantive motion, but that does not include amendments to the actual bill. Is that what you're saying?
Bloc
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC
Mr. Chair, we were talking about notices of motions that deal with routine proceedings and whose purpose is not to amend the bill.