Evidence of meeting #62 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was clerk.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Geoff Regan
Oh, we did create one. Pardon me.
I haven't heard opposition to the idea of referring this to the steering committee, and I haven't heard opposition to the idea of giving a week or two for members to submit suggestions to the clerk. I'd like to get clarification in terms of what period of time you want to give for members to get their suggestions to the clerk.
I have Mr. Cullen and then Mr. Vellacott.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I don't think two weeks to have people think through the list is necessary.
I would caution committee members to not base their suggestions just on this list. Committee members will remember that there were some witnesses that we, as a committee, agreed to, but who couldn't make it. There were other committee choices that for whatever reasons didn't get put on. There are some broader lists to consider, but this is a great start.
In talking to my staff, we're talking about the end of this week to submit things to the clerk, so that when we come back we can hit the ground running. I don't think there's any need to have long consideration over possible witnesses. We've heard a lot around this topic. We should probably know where we want to go.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Geoff Regan
You're saying you're prepared to have it in by the end of this week; you're not saying you would limit it to tomorrow, obviously. I think you're saying a week. Is that your point of view?
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I'm looking at when the committee comes back. We're doing some estimates. The subcommittee can get together next Wednesday or something.
Liberal
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I'm thinking if everyone has everything in by Tuesday then Wednesday the subcommittee can meet and look over a draft.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Yes, sorry. Just to finish, Chair, the draft would be presented to the committee by Thursday and the committee can decide yea or nay as to that plan of action. We'll need to start calling people.
Conservative
Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
I have only one caution in respect to the steering committee. I'm not radically opposed to it. The issue is that if it ends up being the very same ground covered in our full committee then I question the wisdom of people's use of time. I'm not on that steering committee, but I don't want to see other people's time abused, where we go through a wrangle and replay at the full committee level. I'm just throwing some caution out on that. You're all well aware, and I don't really need to belabour that. But I question the merits of the committee, at least in terms of the operation from the past year.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Geoff Regan
Thank you very much.
That has been the concern in the past, but we're in the hands of the committee today. So far the preponderance of reviews would seem to be--although there hasn't been a motion or a vote--toward having the steering committee doing this in the hopes that it could resolve this in an amicable manner.
Mr. McGuinty.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Through you, Mr. Chair, I would like to ask Mr. Cullen a question. With respect to the motion, at some point in the past—I think in committee—he said he was anxious or interested in examining the extent to which this bill might be amended and whether there was any possibility of migrating parts of, for example, Bill C-30—the now suppressed Bill C-30—into this private member's bill. I'm not sure if he's given that any more thought, or if he can help us understand this, or whether, through you, Mr. Chair, he's spoken to the legislative counsel or clerk to get a sense of the kind of amendable approach he wants to bring to this. Secondly, how amendable is this bill?
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Geoff Regan
I have Mr. Warawa next, and if Mr. Cullen indicates he wishes to speak, I'll obviously put him on the list.
Is that a yes, that you wish to speak?
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
You heard me make the suggestion to the minister when he was in front of the committee discussing what parts of Bill C-30 he liked and what parts he didn't, and those sorts of things. So we're obviously open to the concept. There are certain rules under which we all operate in private members' bills, because there are certain things you can't bring into a bill, and certain things you can; we operate under those rules.
The idea of this is to begin the next conversation in this country, which is at least a decade delayed, I would suggest. When we go to GLOBE we will see that other countries have had this long-range and medium-range conversation about targets at least five years ago, and most of our European partners have.
So of course we're always open to amendments.
Conservative
Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC
Thank you, Chair.
At this point we don't have a motion on the floor, do we?
I think there is a desire, a consensus, to have this referred to a steering committee. Mr. Bigras had suggested starting in September. I think that's practical, in the sense that we're scheduled to be here until the 22nd, so we have another three weeks, approximately.
Tomorrow, many of us are going to Berlin to the G-8 plus 5.
Mr. Cullen suggested that we meet Wednesday of next week. We will arrive back on Tuesday, so we'll be a little jet-lagged, but I think having a first meeting of the steering committee would be fine on Wednesday of next week.
During this next week we can provide the clerk with some names, but it wouldn't be a restrictive list of names; that list can evolve. We can start in September with a reconvening of the steering committee, maybe a day before we have the committee meeting. So we can start in September with Bill C-377, with the recommendations of a witness list, and a plan.
If that's okay, I'd like to move a motion that the witness list and the planning be referred to a steering committee, and that the first meeting be Wednesday of next week.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Geoff Regan
Would you like to add to that motion a few words on the time in which members are asked to submit suggestions of witnesses to the clerk, so that you can have a list to consider?
Conservative
Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC
I think the agreement was by next week. It would not be a restrictive list.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Geoff Regan
What I have in mind is whether you want to say 5 p.m. Tuesday, for example.