Evidence of meeting #91 for Canadian Heritage in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
October 5th, 2023 / 9:50 a.m.
Parliamentary Librarian
I think that answer is just fine. Thank you.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Seeing no other names put forward to speak to this clause, I'm going to call the question.
(Amendment agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
I shall move on.
Go ahead, Ms. Hepfner.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Lisa Hepfner Liberal Hamilton Mountain, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'm wondering whether we can go back to the first amendment we passed.
As Mr. Champoux suggested, we talked about amending it to include indigenous languages, but then it seemed to pass very quickly before we did anything like that. As he suggested, he is amenable to including indigenous languages in this definition.
Do we want to go back to this question again?
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
I would need unanimous consent. I don't think I have it.
Go ahead, Ms. Gladu.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
No, I wouldn't give unanimous consent to that, because this is for the individuals who will be selected. It's important that they operate in one of the official languages. I think that's the intent.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
We cannot go back to that, Ms. Hepfner. I'm sorry.
(Clause 1 as amended agreed to)
Go ahead, Mrs. Thomas.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Between clause 1 and clause 2, I wish to move a motion that is on notice. I would like to read that into the record at this time.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
The motion I wish to move is as follows:
Given that,
the government is desperate to police and control speech,
freedom of expression is—
9:50 a.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
I'll let my mike capture the laughter from across the way there.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Given that,
the government is desperate to police and control speech,
freedom of expression is fundamental to a free society,
the government rammed Bill C-11, the online censorship bill, through every step of the way, ignoring the concerns of Canadians and Canadian content creators, to force it into law,
the government has given itself the power to control what Canadians can see, hear, and say online,
Canadians must always stand up for their right to freely express themselves and access information of their choosing without government censorship,
the government is now requiring podcasts and social media services to register with the government as an overreach of Bill C-11 and a drastic affront to free expression,
it is the opinion of the committee to repeal Bill C-11 and that the committee report this finding to the House.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you.
We are continuing with this particular agenda here, which is to finish this clause-by-clause, and then we can deal with you, Mrs. Thomas.
If you're going to decide that I can't do that, we'll ask the question again.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Madam Chair, please follow the rules. According to the green book, if you will confer with the clerk, I have the ability to move a motion, and as soon as a motion is moved, it takes precedence at the meeting.
9:55 a.m.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
On that subject, Madam Chair, I would remind you of what happened last week, when I tabled my motion concerning freedom of expression. The circumstances were exactly the same. We were not discussing the work of the committee and we postponed consideration of my motion until later.
We learn something about committee procedure every day. I learned something last week. I think it's the same situation.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you.
I'm sorry, Mrs. Thomas, but I am going to move to the question.
Should clause 2—
9:55 a.m.
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Just on a point of order, Madam Chair, Mrs. Thomas has experience as a committee chair. She knows that what she is doing is procedurally wrong, and if she is going to question again the right decision that you're making as chair, she has only to challenge the chair and the committee can decide.
It is highly inappropriate to interrupt clause-by-clause. I would hope that the Manitoba lesson, the crazed rhetoric of the Manitoba Conservatives, would serve as a lesson to Conservatives here that the public threw the Conservatives out for many of the same reasons and the kind of disruption we're seeing today.
Let's complete the bill. You have quite appropriately ruled. This is a notice of motion, which means it could be discussed after 48 hours at the next committee hearing, as Mrs. Thomas knows well. We'll have another committee meeting after the Thanksgiving break, and that will be when she will be able to move it.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Do I have agreement of the committee to go ahead and finish the work on the clause? We have only two more clauses to go.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
No, you do not, Madam Chair.
Madam Chair, I will disrupt the rest of this meeting if you do not follow the green book.
According to the Standing Orders, between one clause and the next, I have the ability to move a motion. That motion is on the table. It is being discussed as a motion moved.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
Madam Chair, if Mrs. Thomas has an issue, perhaps she can challenge the chair. We can move on with this and then we can put this to rest. As it is, I note that you were following precisely the rules of the committee as articulated and as noted by others. It would be wonderfully helpful if there were a challenge to the chair, then we could get that done and move on with the business of this committee.