Evidence of meeting #23 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.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Mills
I have read clause 10 now twice, just in case I missed anything, and in clause 10 you can see what's covered there. There's a huge range—
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
That's not my point of order, with all due respect, Mr. Chair.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
My point of order is that he's reading the same documents he read in the last meeting.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Mills
Actually, today, Mr. McGuinty, I believe Mr. Warawa has brought up items about garbage gasification, a number of items that I know are not in those documents.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
He's reading precisely the same documents. I just walked over and looked at them, Mr. Chair.
Conservative
Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON
Yes, Mr. Chair, I believe that where previously Mr. Warawa was speaking to an amendment, we are now speaking to an amended clause, so I think he's entirely in order to make his argument. Let him speak.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Mills
Thank you.
Mr. Warawa, could you continue. We probably don't have more than another minute or so.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Mr. Chair, on the point of order I raised with you, could you please give me a ruling or understanding here? Are members allowed to read from documents that they've already read from earlier?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Mills
I know the suggestion in the House is that people give a speech and that they not read. However, having been in that House for some time, I know that the Speaker of the House does not enforce very rigidly that speaking as opposed to reading. When I frequently spoke in the House, I always tried to, because I just wasn't very good at reading a speech, so obviously, I encourage every member in committee as well as in the House to give a speech from the heart as opposed to giving a speech from a book.
But again, it's a fairly difficult line there.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Chair, I'm not asking you to distinguish between speaking extemporaneously and speaking by reading from a text. I'm asking you to advise the committee whether or not it is permissible for the parliamentary secretary to come now to three or four meetings and read precisely the same documents.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Mills
I really believe that today Mr. Warawa has in fact been talking about a number of issues that I haven't heard before. I particularly twigged to a couple that he knows are my favourite issues, and I know they're not in that document.
Mr. Warawa, did you have final remarks? The bells are ringing, as you know. It's a 15-minute bell, and we do have votes.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Mills
That's not debatable. We have a motion to adjourn and, of course, return at our scheduled time on Monday.
(Motion agreed to)
The meeting is adjourned.
