Canadian Heritage Committee on June 2nd, 2022

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Chair, ascribing motivation to me is inappropriate.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Mrs. Thomas, you have the floor. Please speak to your amendment.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Yes, Madam Chair. That is what I have been doing. Perhaps, if we see differently on this, you could seek the counsel of the clerk.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Your amendment was moved in order, because it did not change anything with the main motion. You cannot make an amendment that will change the main motion. You were speaking to the main motion, which is about deadlines, so I would like you to speak about deadlines.

Thank you very much.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Yes, Madam Chair. I am speaking to deadlines, and I'm speaking to why I would like to see that deadline changed. I believe this is within the scope of the amendment I have moved. If you and I see differently on this, I am happy to have this suspended for a moment while you seek clarity from the clerk.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I do not seek clarity from the clerk. Thank you very much.

Continue, Mrs. Thomas.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Thank you.

Madam Chair, I'll also seek clarity on one other thing.

You seemed quite firm about there being a certain date by which we need to report this bill back to the House. That was never put forward to this committee. In fact, the extract from the Journals of the House of Commons, as of Thursday, May 12, reads:

That Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Within that, there is no deadline by which this committee has to report this bill back to the House. Madam Chair, I'm wondering if you have secret information the rest of us are not privy to, and, if so, why that hasn't been tabled for the committee to see.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Mrs. Thomas, you have suggested that we continue.... As chair, I work on orders from the committee. The unanimous orders from this committee were that we have 10 meetings equivalent to 20 hours, and that they end the week of May 30. We are in that week.

There is no suggestion that we have to continue to talk about anything. We know—we all know—that the next step is to go to amendments and clause-by-clause. I am asking that we continue to obey the orders of the day, which say that this bill, now that it's finished with public hearings, go to amendments and clause-by-clause.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Chair, again, the motion that was moved at this committee says:

That the committee hear witnesses on the topic of Bill C-11, an Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts for one meeting lasting five hours during the week of May 23, 2022; that the committee continue to hear witnesses for an additional three meetings lasting five hours each during the week of May 30, 2022; and that during the meeting of Tuesday, May 24, 2022, no motion shall be moved.

That is—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Every single item of that motion has been completed.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Chair, I am seeking clarity, though, as to what part of that motion says there is a hard stop and we have to get this back to the House by June 23. I don't read that in this motion, so I'm wondering if there is something I have missed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

It reads, “that the committee continue to hear witnesses for an additional three meetings lasting five hours each during the week of May 30, 2022”. This is the week we are now completing, so those were the clear and detailed instructions in that motion.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Okay. So Madam Chair, I'm just clarifying—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

It did not say “a minimum of” or any such thing. It said for the week of May 30, 2022, for “additional” meetings.

Thank you.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Thank you.

So it also doesn't say “maximum”.

As a second point of clarification—I want to make sure I have all the information, because I feel like maybe there's some that I've missed—was there an amendment made to this motion that means we have to report back to the House by June 23? Did I miss that?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

No, you did not miss it, but I am suggesting that if we continue with the order of the day, which is to now move to amendments and to now move to clause-by-clause, we will have finished it before the House rises. That's unless you would like us not to have any meetings further to this.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Okay, Madam Chair. Thank you. I—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I'm talking about good faith here. This is good faith that was agreed on in this motion, and now you are backing down from that. That is what I see, and I have to ask you why.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Madam Chair, the statement you made just moments ago is that we had to get this done and back to the House by June 23—you made it sound very matter of fact—which, I think you've just revealed, is actually not in the motion. I have it directly in front of me as well. I don't read it there. You've just confirmed for me that there's not an amendment that I wasn't privy to.

I do have to ask, then, Madam Chair, why would you state that we have to have this back by June 23 if that is not in fact a decision made by this committee? The responsibility of this—

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

On a point of order, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Yes, Mr. Champoux.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Madam Chair, on the one hand, our conservative colleague is straying from her main subject, which is the amendment she is proposing. On the other hand, when she comes back to it, it is to repeat exactly the same things she has been telling us for quite some time.

Madam Chair, I believe you have the authority to rule and force a vote on the amendment and then the motion before us, so that we can get back to the committee's agenda.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

According to the rule book, Mr. Champoux, I do have the authority. If the debate is being repetitive, and if in my mind nothing new is being gained by the continuing discussion, I could do that. That is not used very often, because quite often on committees we depend on goodwill to move forward according to the rules and according to the traditions.

So I could do this, in which case I will ask for the vote to be called on the amendment and then the vote to be called on the main motion.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Yes, Ms. Thomas.