Evidence of meeting #4 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 documents.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Clerk of the Committee  Ms. Miriam Burke

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

At the moment, it's 48 hours. Is that correct?

12:15 p.m.

The Clerk

It's 24 hours.

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

We could deal with that as a subamendment, and then we could debate the time. Then we'd debate the amendment and then the motion.

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC

Mr. Chair, would you like me to propose a subamendment?

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

It's actually an amendment to the motion, not a subamendment. It's an amendment to the original motion. Because the original motion has “24 hours”, you would go ahead with an amendment in that regard.

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Han Dong Liberal Don Valley North, ON

On a point of order, Chair—

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

We're going to suspend for a second.

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Han Dong Liberal Don Valley North, ON

—I just want to clarify whether that was a subamendment or an amendment to the main motion.

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

We're going to make sure that we are squeaky clean on procedure and practices. We'll get back to you.

We're going to suspend for two or three minutes.

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC

Chair, could we say five minutes?

12:20 p.m.

Liberal

Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC

We could do a nature break.

12:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

Sure. We'll suspend for five minutes. We'll see if we can squeeze in both.

12:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

All right, colleagues, we are ready to reconvene now.

Mr. Fergus, there is a fine detail on the number of amendments, subamendments and motions that can be on the floor at any given time, and we had to sort that out specifically.

For the benefit of all colleagues, it is probably good to review it right now. We can manage one motion on the floor at any given time. Then we can manage one amendment at a time and one subamendment at a time.

Mr. Fergus, the subtlety of your motion is that you are not amending Mr. Angus's amendment. In other words, it wouldn't be a subamendment. It is actually an additional amendment to the original motion with regard to the time, so we would have to dispose of the amendment first before we could entertain another amendment.

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC

That's fair enough, Mr. Chair. I will withdraw the complication, the wrinkle. Whatever you want to call it, I will withdraw it at this time.

12:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

Yes, that's—

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

On a point of order—

12:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

Go ahead, Mr. Angus.

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

On that point, given the fact that we have requested a turnaround time on documents that is relatively short, would it not just come back to the clerk, who would say there have been difficulties and report to committee that we are having a slowdown in getting those documents in the period described? Do we need to anticipate that now, or if this motion passes, can we leave it to the clerk to send a message for the documents, and if there is a problem, it comes back to our committee?

12:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

Mr. Angus, the only problem, I think, is that if I were the organization, I would be concerned about the fact that I wouldn't be in compliance with an order coming from—

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Okay.

12:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

It's not so much us, but the fact that it would be on the public record that they didn't comply—

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Right. That's fair enough.

12:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

—so I think we need to investigate that afterwards.

Mr. Fergus, have you conceded the floor, then?

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC

I have conceded the floor.

12:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

Okay. Now we'll move on to Madam Lattanzio.

Madam Lattanzio, have you unmuted yourself?