Evidence of meeting #1 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
If you submit it at 6 o'clock, you won't be seeing it the next day; you'll be seeing it the day after that.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Mills
Clearly, you can't have a 24-hour clock. He has to have some kind of time.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
No, he'll have a day and a half. He'll have more than 24 hours.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
If you submit it at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, it won't come before the committee on Thursday. If you happen to be meeting on Friday, you could have it on Friday.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Mills
The clerk is the one who is involved in receiving these. Do you need a time, Norm, or not.
5:20 p.m.
The Clerk
No, it means—
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
5:20 p.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Yes, and the clarification says 24 hours prior to the meeting. If the meeting is at 3:30, then 24 hours prior, it seems to me, would be 3:30 the day before.
I feel as though we're going down a rabbit hole here as to what the definition of 24 hours is. It's unhelpful.
If the meeting is on Tuesday at 3:30, then 24 hours' notice to me means Monday at 3:30. Putting times into it and clarifying that is a waste of our time.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Mills
Norm has suggested that he's heard the arguments and thinks he understands those. Can he bring back an amended proposal?
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Mills
We'll just put this aside and let Norm come back with new wording that probably fits....
Yes.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
The clerk can maybe respond to us on this, because we would all be helped a little bit by it.
For example, when it comes in to your e-mail, how quickly—it depends upon the length of the motion, I guess—are you able to turn it out? What's an average in terms of getting these things out and relayed to the members?
5:20 p.m.
The Clerk
It's difficult to answer that question because it depends on the length of the motion and the complexity. But if you're looking at an average motion, an hour, an hour and a half, maybe two, maximum.
5:20 p.m.
The Clerk
But in some cases, you read it and it just doesn't click, where you say, “well, gee”, so you need some clarification. But it's about an hour, an hour and a half.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
So sometimes you have to get back to the member, you're saying, the back and forth.
5:20 p.m.
The Clerk
Yes, and we have to get it translated and make sure it matches. So there are little glitches here and there.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
And that's all I'm asking. So in the case of something that's not very clear, or maybe very awkwardly worded, and you've got to go around the horn and reword it again....
5:20 p.m.
The Clerk
But then I guess one could argue that it's not officially filed, unless the member says it's filed.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
If it's amended or changed in terms of wording, in conjunction with you--
5:20 p.m.
The Clerk
It's between the clerk and the member.
