Evidence of meeting #31 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was workers.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Melissa Lukings  Juris Doctor Candidate, Faculty of Law, University of New Brunswick, As an Individual
Jennifer Clamen  National Coordinator, Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform
Sandra Wesley  Executive Director, Stella, l'amie de Maimie
Clerk of the Committee  Ms. Miriam Burke

12:15 p.m.

Juris Doctor Candidate, Faculty of Law, University of New Brunswick, As an Individual

Melissa Lukings

Wait. Do we not...?

12:15 p.m.

National Coordinator, Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform

Jennifer Clamen

This is actually not crazy for us—

12:15 p.m.

Juris Doctor Candidate, Faculty of Law, University of New Brunswick, As an Individual

Melissa Lukings

Wait, wait, wait....

12:15 p.m.

National Coordinator, Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform

Jennifer Clamen

—because this usually happens.

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Chris Warkentin

Order. Order.

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Shutting you down when you're speaking.

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Chris Warkentin

Mr. Angus, order.

I will now suspend the meeting so that the motion can be distributed to the members.

If Madam Shanahan can get that over to the clerk so that the clerk can have it circulated to members in both official languages....

It may take some time now, unless Madam Shanahan does have it in both official languages.

I do apologize to our witnesses and to committee members—

12:15 p.m.

Juris Doctor Candidate, Faculty of Law, University of New Brunswick, As an Individual

Melissa Lukings

Well, when do we come back?

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Chris Warkentin

—but we will have to do this now.

The meeting is suspended.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Chris Warkentin

Colleagues, I'm going to call this meeting back to order.

Colleagues, I will inform you on the record that we are still waiting for translation and as committee members know, the decision of the committee has been that we don't debate motions until they've been distributed in both official languages. We don't know what the reason is for the delay in translation, but we have several people on the speaking order. I'm hopeful that we may come to a solution.

I just want to verify again that Madam Shanahan, who's the mover of the motion, is unwilling to adjourn the debate on the motion.

Is that correct, Ms. Shanahan?

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC

Chair, if there's unanimous consent to take up this motion on Friday, then we can hear from the witnesses now. We need unanimous consent from all members that we take up the motion on Friday.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Chris Warkentin

The only thing we can do at this point to move forward is to allow for the debate on this motion to be adjourned. I believe that it would be a debatable motion. If not, it would be on Friday or a different date.

12:55 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

It would be a debate to adjourn.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Chris Warkentin

If one of our colleagues were to move an adjournment on this debate, there would have to be unanimous consent for the debate to be adjourned.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Chair—

12:55 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

I move [Technical difficulty—Editor].

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC

What would that mean, Mr. Warkentin?

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Chris Warkentin

The adjournment would mean that there would no longer be a debate with regard to Ms. Shanahan's motion until such time as it was moved at a later date.

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Chair—

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Chris Warkentin

I'm getting a lot of “Chair” here. I do have a speaking order.

We'll move to Mr. Barrett first.

April 19th, 2021 / 12:55 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Thanks, Chair. That's why I was looking for your attention.

We had quite a bit of time left in the scheduled meeting. As Mr. Angus has pointed out, we have two minutes left until the scheduled end of the meeting. It's budget day, and members were expected to be in other locations.

I have not been a parliamentarian for as long as some others around this table have, but I have been to a lot of committee meetings and certainly it's the first time that I've seen witness testimony cut short with a table-drop motion looking for more witness testimony. The motion was provided in such a fashion that it can only be viewed as having been a dilatory tactic to avoid the other business that the committee had been dealing with on Friday past.

Chair, with apologies for the waste of time to the witnesses who have appeared today, and in recognition that this motion that's been put forward has been used to waste the time of committee, I move that the committee do now be adjourned.

1 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Chris Warkentin

That is a non-debatable motion, so I'll ask the clerk to assist me with a roll call with regard to that motion.

1 p.m.

The Clerk of the Committee Ms. Miriam Burke

Mr. Dong.

1 p.m.

Liberal

Han Dong Liberal Don Valley North, ON

No.

1 p.m.

The Clerk

Mr. Fergus.