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.
NDP
Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
I've made a motion, and I'm quite serious about it. We've gone on way beyond a reasonable timeframe to be sitting here without a break and without any food.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
The motion is in order.
Now we have a point of order here. Please don't debate the motion, though. It had better be a point of order.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
It's a point of order.
Why are you accepting a motion in the middle of questioning? We are questioning.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Sir, it's because it's permitted under the rules. I would be happy, sir, to show you that.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
You are changing the rules as we go—again. This preferential treatment for the opposition is unacceptable. You've been doing this the whole time.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
That's a very serious allegation, that I've been changing the rules. I just indicated to you that under the rules of Parliament a member can make a motion during the time in which he is addressing a...[Inaudible--Editor]. It is in the rules.
You've called me a liar. So I'm going to look it up for you, and we're going to take the time to get you the reference.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
To correct the record, I did not call you a liar. Correct the record.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
You're saying I'm changing the rules. I'm not changing the rules. You're saying I changed the rules. That's a lie.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
You said I'm changing the rules.
The issue is whether or not a motion can be made, and he's challenged that. I said it's permitted, and he's saying, no, that I'm changing the rules.
Let's get the answers again to correct Mr. Lemieux.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
What time was on the clock when he dropped this?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
We are already on a point of order.
What I'm going to do, once we get the reference, is provide it to Mr. Lemieux so that he won't have to raise this point of order ever again about when you can ask questions. There are guidelines available for members of Parliament, and I hope you will have your office get them for you.
Mr. Martin has made a motion, and I think the motion is fairly.... Okay, we'll have a speakers list.
Mr. Dykstra? Yes.
Is there anyone else who wanted to speak to this motion of Mr. Martin?
I have to let Mr. Martin speak first on his motion. The mover does speak. I interrupted because there was this point of order that came. I interrupted him.
Mr. Goodyear would like to give us his words of wisdom. Is there anyone else? Okay, we have that.
Mr. Martin, your motion was that we suspend after Madam Redman for two hours. Is that everybody's understanding of his motion?
Mr. Martin, do you have anything further on your motion?
NDP
Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
May I add, as a point of clarification, that my intention was “at the end of this round”, and I understood that the end of the round was Madam Redman. If Mr. Tilson—
NDP
Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
If Mr. Tilson is actually the last one, then with the permission of the committee I think the motion should be that we have a two-hour break.
The salient point here is that I want a full two-hour block of time so that I can do some work in my office during this lunch-break period before the end of the business day. I need to do that, and I'd ask the indulgence of the committee, if we could perhaps amend this or put a different motion, that at the end of this round of questioning we have a two-hour break before we resume.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
I had understood that, and that's why I raised with you that the end was Mr. Tilson and not Madam Redman.
I think everybody understands it. There are members who have asked to speak on this, but if they understand now that we will take his motion as being that he intended, at the end of the second round, that we suspend for two hours, then that is the motion before us.
Mr. Dykstra was the first member I had on the list for debating this.
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
Thank you. The clarification helps. I had intended to question the procedure around suspending before a round has been completed. That's actually contrary to what this committee would have agreed to at the beginning of the session, so it would not have been in order.
I'm not going to be supporting the motion, but certainly the motion to suspend after the round is completed is a motion that can be tabled.
Conservative
Gary Goodyear Conservative Cambridge, ON
I would like to have clarification from you, Mr. Chair. If this motion is adopted, will the same witnesses be here after the suspension? Will they still be available to us for more questioning?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
The committee could do that if it so wished. We invited Mr. Mayrand to be here this morning. He is an officer of Parliament and he wants to provide service to this committee. If the committee feels it's essential that he be here to carry on, I think the committee should make that specific request.
I would suggest, since many members really question why he should be here at all, and the committee may want to call him back at a later date.... I'm not sure what the committee's view is, but if the committee wants to have Mr....
Mr. Mayrand, I apologize. The committee had invited you to be here from 10 o'clock to noon. It's 1:30 already. I didn't anticipate this. Are you available, sir, to come back later—I don't know exactly when—to continue, or would you...?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
We are already on a point of order. Hold it for a moment.
I simply want to make sure the members understand whether or not there are any commitments of the Chief Electoral Officer. We are now asking him for more time here, which I'm sure he wants to give, provided he has not made other commitments.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
I had other commitments, but depending on the needs of the committee, I could make some changes for after 3:30.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Maybe I can assist. Right now I have, after Mr. Martin finishes his time period with his motion, Madam Redman and Mr. Tilson, for five minutes. That is the end of the second round.
I guess the real question is, do the members want a third round?