Declaration of Emergency Committee on Sept. 22nd, 2022

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Wait a moment, please. We are not there yet, Ms. Bendayan.

I gave the floor to Mr. Brock, and Mr. Green and Mr. Virani were up next. I can add your name to the list. Right now, Mr. Brock has the floor.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

This is not an amendment. It's another motion, Mr. Chair.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Senator Carignan, go ahead.

[Claude Carignan]

I will move that, after the word “committee”, we remove lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 up to “invites” and continue with “invite the Clerk of the Privy Council to appear before the committee to discuss”. We will remove the words “these matters, among other things”. We will replace them with “the producing document, including claims of cabinet confidence for this committee and other proceedings related to the public order emergency.”

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Wait a moment. Senator Carignan's amendment has been proposed, and that is what we will discuss now, but I must first hear Ms. Bendayan's point of order.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

You said, as chair of this committee, that the amendment was not in order. You rightly said it was a new motion. Obviously, by taking out five of the six lines of the motion, it was made into a new motion. So I would like to clarify the situation with respect to the comments and decisions you made.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Thank you, Ms. Bendayan.

What I was saying earlier was that the text Mr. Brock read to us was a new proposal. What we have now is Senator Carignan's amendment, which I believe is in order. The lines he would like to strike out are basically a kind of contextualization. However, the request to have the Clerk of the Privy Council appear remains. Second, the amendment specifies the matters to be discussed. I did not note the exact wording proposed by Senator Carignan—he can repeat it—but, in my opinion, this amendment is in order.

Mr. Green, you have the floor.

[The Joint Chair, NDP, Matthew Green]

Mr. Chair, in noting the time, typically, we have a brief break to allow people to refresh themselves. I would like to request that we have a five-minute recess at this time to allow people to do that. We can then come back to this. I think we're going to be at loggerheads here for a bit. I'd like to ask for five minutes.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Would we be ready to vote on the amendment now?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

So I will grant Mr. Green's request, but since it is 8:10 p.m. and we have to leave at 8:30 p.m., let's keep it to five minutes. Does everyone agree?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

The meeting is suspended.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

We are resuming our meeting.

Mr. Motz, the floor is yours.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Chair, in light of discussions with all parties in the room, I move to adjourn debate on this particular motion.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Does everyone agree with that?

[Some hon. members]

Yes.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

So the debate on motion 8 is adjourned.

If memory serves, Ms. Bendayan mentioned, at the beginning of the meeting, that she would like to move a motion.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Yes, the clerk has received it.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Can it please be distributed?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

I have copies for everyone, Madam Clerk.

In the meantime, I will briefly talk about the motion.

This is a motion that will help us ensure that our committee's work—

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Ms. Bendayan will explain to us the content of her motion while copies are being distributed to members.

Ms. Bendayan, go ahead.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Thank you.

The motion proposes the names of a number of witnesses we could invite to appear at upcoming meetings.

I think that everyone now has a copy of the text of the motion.

That the committee invite Peter Sloly, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, and representatives from the Ottawa Police Service to appear for one hour each; that the committee invite the Parliamentary Protective Service, the Sergeant at Arms for the House of Commons, and representatives from the Corporate Security Directorate from the Senate to appear on one panel for a period of two hours; and that these meetings take place as soon as possible subject to witnesses' availabilities.

Mr. Chair, I would really like those witnesses to appear for two, three, four or five hours, but time is limited. What is proposed is in the text of the motion. We could always invite those witnesses again as needed.

Now that we have reviewed the motions proposed by our colleagues, we have an opportunity to submit questions in writing. So I am submitting my motion to you for discussion and debate.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Thank you, Ms. Bendayan.

Before I give the floor to the next speaker, I must give the floor to Mr. Motz and Senator White, as they wanted to comment.

That said, before I do so, I would like to ensure I understand what you are proposing. You are proposing a one-hour block for two witnesses, the Mayor of Ottawa, Mr. Watson, and a representative of the Ottawa Police Service, as well as another —