Environment Committee on May 1st, 2007

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Godfrey's suggestion is an excellent one. I don't think we can resolve any basic problems in 15 minutes, as Mr. Cullen will surely agree. I suggest we adjourn the meeting and give the government and Mr. Cullen a few days to confer and come up with amendments that are in order. There is no way that we're going to start debating as to whether an amendment is in order or not. If we go down that path, then we're leaving the door wide open.

I suggest that we adjourn today's meeting and let Mr. Cullen confer with the government, as Mr. Godfrey suggested, in order to come up with something more effective and practical, while at the same time keeping to established procedure.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Mills]

Mr. Cullen, can I give you the last word here on this, please?

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Sure.

I'm as much concerned about the bill and the merits of what we're talking about as the process this committee adopts in the future. I think we have to be very cautious as we go through considering these types of amendments in what we do in the future, whatever bills and considerations various committee members or government bring forward, because precedence is everything in this place—everything.

We will accept the notion of pausing today's meeting and bringing it back, and we'll have to work with the clerk as to the next discussion point.

I will submit to the committee members, though, as we go in—and the lines of communication have always been open and have been ongoing—at the substantive changes, these are just differences of opinion, fundamental. There's not a lot of nuance left in the discussion.

So we'll have those discussions. We'll attempt to forge the consensus that you, Mr. Chair, seek. At the end of the day, I will remind committee members that Bill C-307, as written, has been accepted by the House, and this committee is charged with the duty of refining it, not changing its substance and merits and direction, and that will remain my intention.

I know Monsieur Bigras has some concerns. We've talked to them about this, and we will continue to talk to government. I assume, from the chair and the clerk, that the meeting next week or at the end of this week will be our next meeting time. I'm not interested in delay. We've had this bill for a number of months already. It was introduced last year. I think it's time to get on with this and just understand that there will be differences of opinion on some of the merits that we talked about.

But under precedent and respect for this place and the House of Commons, we will not change the principles and merits of the bill. They're fundamentals. That is an absolutely disastrous course to walk down, regardless of what's contained in this particular bill.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Mills]

I think, Mr. Cullen, my response to you and Mr. Bigras and Mr. Warawa would be to say, work it out, guys; come back here on Thursday and let us know exactly what it is, and we will then follow procedure much more rigidly than we have today.

That's notice to everybody that we will follow this procedure and everybody will know that. But you have two days to work it out, and we'll return, then, on Thursday and we'll get through this bill—hopefully a better bill than what we have now.

Mr. Warawa.

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Thank you for your comments--from the chair, and also from the members in the committee. There is a willingness on behalf of the government to find common ground.

For clarification, on Thursday, then, we will continue with Bill C-307; and Bill C-298 will be on Tuesday of the next week. Is that correct?

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Mills]

My hope would be—because I haven't seen the same sort of interest in Bill C-298, if that's a fair word to use—that if you've done what I as chair have instructed you to do, we'll be through Bill C-307 fairly quickly and possibly even have time to get to Bill C-298. That's what I would attempt to do, to get us back on schedule.

We have arranged witnesses for our next sessions. We hate to start changing air tickets, and so on. Some people have already adjusted to meet what we've asked them to do.

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

So the first order of business will be Bill C-307.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Mills]

Bill C-307 is the first order of business. We will proceed quite quickly, I hope, through that.

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Mills]

Thank you.

The meeting is adjourned.