Evidence of meeting #12 for Declaration of Emergency in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was witnesses.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Vernon White  Senator (Ontario) CSG
Claude Carignan  Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Jane Cordy  Senator (Nova Scotia) PSG
Joint Chair  Hon. Gwen Boniface (Senator (Ontario) ISG
Joint Clerk  Ms. Miriam Burke

8:10 p.m.

Liberal

Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont, QC

I am proposing a one-hour block for each witness.

8:10 p.m.

Bloc

The Joint Co-Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin

Okay.

You are proposing one hour for each of the two witnesses. As for the other three witnesses, will they each have two hours or do you want us to divide up the two hours among the three?

8:10 p.m.

Liberal

Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont, QC

No, those witnesses would be part of the same panel.

8:10 p.m.

Bloc

The Joint Co-Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin

The three witnesses—the Sergeant at Arms, Senate security, and the Parliamentary Protective Service—would have two hours in total. The first two witnesses would have an hour each.

8:10 p.m.

Liberal

Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont, QC

Yes.

8:10 p.m.

Bloc

The Joint Co-Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin

Okay, thank you.

Mr. Motz, go ahead.

8:10 p.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

Thank you very much, Chair, and thank you, Ms. Bendayan, for bringing this forward.

I like the witness list. I would make some suggestions.

Given the importance of former chief Sloly and Mayor Watson,.... We need to name not just representatives, but the Ottawa Police Service. We name the interim chief and we name the acting deputy chief to appear for two hours each. We have to.

The rest of it—the Parliamentary Protective Service, the Sergeant-at-Arms and corporate security directorate for a panel for two hours—I can live with.

8:10 p.m.

Liberal

Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont, QC

You are proposing two hours for Peter Sloly, two hours for Mayor Watson and two hours for both representatives.

8:10 p.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

Yes, that's for the current interim chief and the acting deputy chief together.

8:10 p.m.

Bloc

The Joint Co-Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin

So we would give two hours to Mr. Sloly and two hours to Mr. Watson.

Mr. Motz, how much time would be given to the other witnesses?

8:10 p.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

Yes, it's that the committee invite Peter Sloly, Ottawa Mayor Watson and the Ottawa Police Service's interim chief and acting deputy chief for two hours each. Then—

8:10 p.m.

Bloc

The Joint Co-Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin

So that comes up to eight hours, or two hours per witness. Is that right?

8:10 p.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

No, the Ottawa Police Service would be one two-hour panel for two people.

8:10 p.m.

Bloc

The Joint Co-Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin

That would be for those two witnesses.

8:10 p.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

It would be for two people and a two-hour panel, and then the rest would be the same for another two-hour panel. I would then propose one more witness. We could put in, from the last motion, the Clerk of the Privy Council.

8:10 p.m.

Voices

No.

8:10 p.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

You don't want her.

8:10 p.m.

A voice

The OPP.

8:10 p.m.

A voice

After.

8:10 p.m.

A voice

There's a disconnect.

8:10 p.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

We have a disconnect, but that's a totally different day.

8:10 p.m.

A voice

We can do Carrique.

8:10 p.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

That's fair. We can do OPP Commissioner Carrique for two hours.

That gets us going, Rachel. It helps us get moving.

8:15 p.m.

Liberal

Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont, QC

I have no problem with the idea in principle. It's just that we have a very limited number of meetings and a huge witness list, which we all contributed to. I'm mindful of using our time judiciously.

8:15 p.m.

Conservative

Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB

I agree.

The only thing is I will guarantee that in one hour, with all of us here, we're not going to get through Mr. Sloly or Mr. Watson, and we're going to be calling them back. I want to try to be as efficient as we can be, because we may be able to deal with them in one two-hour slot and not have to bring them back again.