Evidence of meeting #46 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was witnesses.
A recording is available from Parliament.
2:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
This is not a point of order, sir. You cannot call a point of order just to hear yourself talk.
2:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Order, please, Mr. Wallace.
Mr. Hubbard, I really believe we have to have one person talking at once.
I want to remind honourable members that when the chair calls for order, it's just like in the House when the Speaker rises. Then you have to sit down in your place and stop speaking and listen to the chair of the proceedings. In the House, it's the Speaker. In a committee, it is the chair.
I am speaking, yet you are now trying to speak. The poor translators back there are having difficulty with three people, as Mr. Goodyear and Mr. Wallace are speaking while I'm speaking, and trying to figure out how to keep a proper transcript. Members ought to understand this. In aboriginal communities, they have what's called a talking stick. It means that unless you have the talking stick in your hand, you shall not speak; you have to have it.
But Mr. Wallace, you're talking when you don't have the floor. Your point of order was not a point of order; you wanted to have more debate and more argument. It was not a procedural question.
2:25 p.m.
Some hon. members
[Inaudible--Editor]
2:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Order, order.
Mr. Wallace, when I say “order”, you really have to listen.
Order, please.
Now, Mr. Wallace has maybe not given all of the facts. I would like to at least remind the committee that in addition to the witnesses we had scheduled, the debate on the motion by Mr. Scott Reid also has to take place.
And because the candidate for Vancouver East and the official agent have not appeared, which I just found out about at 12:30 this afternoon, I spoke with the clerk and asked if we could, at their request—as they had suggested this to me—deal with the budget for our committee, because to reimburse the expenses of our witnesses we actually need to pass a budget. The copies are available, and I want to deal with this too.
The job of a chair is to try to utilize the time as efficiently as possible, but when summonses are issued and people do not respect the summonses, there is nothing I can do. I can tell you that I'm fearful that tomorrow morning, when four witnesses are scheduled from four different ridings for the morning session.... All of them had to be summonsed, but I have no indication whatsoever whether or not they will respect that summons. I do not have the authority to enforce it.
We may very well find ourselves having to suspend the proceedings until the afternoon and our afternoon witnesses. But then the committee will have to determine what action it's prepared to take with regard to those who do not respect Parliament, do not respect the committee, and do not respect a summons issued and served, which has the same weight as a summons from a court of law; it has the same weight.
So I would like to move on now. One half-hour of our time has been taken up on this. It's unfortunate, but the members have rights.
I ask members respectfully, please don't misuse the witnesses' time and your colleagues' time by raising matters that could maybe be raised at the end of the meeting or before we start the meeting. Maybe discuss it with your own colleagues to see whether or not it really is a good thing to raise; it might be helpful to all interested parties.
Mr. Martelli, you have been sworn in, sir. I know you are here voluntarily--no summons. I know you have been a candidate, and in our brief chat I told you I very much respect that you offered yourself for public office. It is very important.
I'm going to move on to questions from the committee members. We'll probably do a couple of rounds, and then at the end we will offer you an opportunity, if you wish, to make a few remarks that you feel would be helpful to the committee.
2:30 p.m.
Conservative
2:30 p.m.
Conservative
2:30 p.m.
An hon. member
I have a point of order.
2:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
No, order. We're going to move now to Mr. Proulx, please.
We're following the same procedure as we followed this morning.
2:30 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
We were wrong this morning; we're wrong now. What happens with the honourable witnesses who make a statement in relation to questions?
2:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Order, order. We did not indicate to the witnesses that they would be--
2:30 p.m.
An hon. member
If he has a closing statement, he can use it as an opening.
2:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
No, no. Mr. Goodyear, first of all, I didn't recognize you. You don't have the floor.
I can tell you that part of the chair's responsibilities--
2:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Mr. Goodyear, please. None of the witnesses we communicated with were advised that they would be required to provide, or offered, an opening statement.
August 11th, 2008 / 2:30 p.m.
An hon. member
Were they advised?
2:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
That is a decision of the committee. I couldn't tell them one way or another.
2:30 p.m.
An hon. member
Well, if they didn't know and they weren't told.... These gentlemen have legal counsel.
2:30 p.m.
NDP
Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Can we move on to the witness, please?
Why have you let this guy hijack the meeting? You have one-on-one conversations by any Conservative who wants to hijack the floor.
2:30 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
You still haven't recognized my point of order, and it's on procedure.
