Canadian Heritage Committee on Sept. 25th, 2006

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Can we have a vote?

The biggest thing is to get the witnesses here, and it's easier to get your witnesses here first.

I think we'll find if we have these people here, we'll be able to ask more interesting questions than maybe we could today in copyright. I know copyright is very technical, whereas this other might be different enough to give us some insight into the problems with the rail museums.

Again, if it's unanimous that we entertain Mr. Abbott's motion to have the two rail museums represented from the west on October 25, I would entertain that.

Do I have unanimous consent?

[Maka Kotto, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Chairman, I agree that we can call on the museum representatives that Mr. Abbott has named, but it seems a bit excessive to devote two hours in order to review the problems at the Saint-Constant museum.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Well, maybe we can have them here for—

[Maka Kotto, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

They could start by submitting a position paper, which would allow all committee members to become familiar with the situation. The same goes for museums in Western Canada. I have already seen the position paper and understand the problems they are facing.

This way, we could cover all issues in two hours. I find it excessive to be spending four hours on the same issue. That is a waste of time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Mr. Abbott.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

We're in a constructive and friendly debate here. I would suggest that I have perhaps the same intensity Mr. Scarpaleggia has towards that organization, because it is unique. If we can complete this, the point is that it's not as though we're going to be asking other rail contributors relative to museums and so on in the future. This completes the circle and gets the job done. There's more than enough material, and information that will more than fill it.

Having briefs is very useful, particularly for the people in the department to be able to take away and work with and develop and so on, but I think the testimony of Mr. Scarpaleggia's people and the testimony of my people will be a very pleasant surprise to Mr. Kotto.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

First of all, I have to ask, do we have unanimous consent? If we don't have unanimous consent, then we don't go forward.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

I have a question.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Okay, Mr. Simms.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

I'll be as quick as I can.

My understanding is that we are calling in these rail museums simply to look at these as a case study for the broader context of fundraising, operational money, or whatever it is the federal government should be involved with in small museums. Am I right or am I wrong?

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

I think you're right.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

I think you're partially right.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

I'm only partially wrong.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Well, you're not necessarily partially wrong. You're partially right in that what Mr. Scarpaleggia and I are saying is that railway is part of the museums picture, but railway is so unique that we have to look at it. It cannot be considered in the same policy as the rest of the museums outside of Ottawa. Railway museums have very specific and very unique challenges that are not duplicated in any other kind of museum—including tractor museums, by the way.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

And lighthouses.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

And lighthouses.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

If I'm going to devote two sessions to this, or if I'm going to sit here for four hours, I would like to see it put in a broader context and not just be about rail museums. That's what concerns me about this. And this is not to diminish your particular museums; don't get me wrong. It's just that I would like to see it used in a context—

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

I'm going to interject—

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

I'm sorry, let me just get in one quick point. I want to get to the meat of the matter, which to me is this. These museums need money for operations. Who pays up?

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Okay. What I need is for everyone around the table to want to do this. If that's not the case, then Mr. Abbott's motion won't go forward. So I'm looking for unanimity here.

[Tina Keeper, Liberal, Churchill, MB]

As a new person on this committee, I would like to mention that although I completely understand the concerns—you have a short-term study and there are only a limited number of sessions—you do have in the objectives of your study that the committee will consider the particular situation of railroad museums in Canada. Although I completely understand and agree with the concerns, until I read the objectives of this study.... And I think they must be from a discussion you had in defining this study. For that reason I would agree to the two sessions on railroads.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Does Mr. Abbott's motion go forward? Do we have unanimity on it?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Okay, with that answered....

What we have to do, since we're a little bit behind time here—