Information & Ethics Committee on Aug. 14th, 2008

Evidence of meeting #49 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 elections.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Activities of the Conservative Party of Canada during the 2006 Election Campaign in relation to certain Election Campaign Expenses and the Ethical Standards of Public Office Holders

Committee Business

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Chantal Proulx Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Public Prosecution Service of Canada

Don Beardall Senior Counsel, Public Prosecution Service of Canada

Marc Mayrand Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada

François Bernier Director, Legal Services, Elections Canada

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

Mr. Chairman, I have a point of order.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo

No, excuse me.

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

Listen, Mr. Chairman, you do not have to go through every musing of one member of the committee—well, he's not even a member of the committee.

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

Gary Goodyear Conservative Cambridge, ON

What are you saying, Pat?

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

One member of the opposition bench put forward a bunch of objections. That doesn't mean you have to spend days, hours—

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

Gary Goodyear Conservative Cambridge, ON

Are you the leader of the No Democracy Party again?

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

Well, I'm the vice-chair of this committee—

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

Gary Goodyear Conservative Cambridge, ON

Really?

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

—and I object to and I resent the time we're spending—

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

Gary Goodyear Conservative Cambridge, ON

Your behaviour will have to change.

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

—on your interference of the committee's work.

August 14th, 2008 / 4:50 p.m.

Conservative

Gary Goodyear Conservative Cambridge, ON

Even the chair doesn't use your language.

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

You've tied the chairman in a knot. He's seen fit to answer every one of your petty little grievances that you've filed over the last three days—

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

Gary Goodyear Conservative Cambridge, ON

I know, you just want to get to the verdict.

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

—he's finished with that now, and now we have agenda items that we want to get back to.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo

Okay, and I agree with you—

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

Don't humour him. He sits there at the front bench and you engage him in these one-on-one conversations while 14 of us are tied up watching you. It's ridiculous.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo

Sometimes we get a lot of venting happening.

Thank you. Please bear with me just for a moment. Mr. Goodyear took a fair bit of time—

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

So what?

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo

—to go through and provide the chair with what he listed as undertakings that were important to complete so that all members were up to speed—

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

After the meeting you should meet with him.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo

I understand that.

I have answered, I believe, the substantive points and questions and provided the material. He asked if he could make just a couple of—

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

Say no. Just say no.

4:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo

Okay, I will next time, but I want to finish this off, and then I want to go to the point that you raised, sir, the substantive point, which was with regard to the summonsing issue.

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

And the agenda after?