Evidence of meeting #127 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was business.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC
Okay. It's coming in to the phone. It's a good thing I had the charger.
Thank you so much, Anthony.
Liberal
Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC
I want to reassure my fellow citizens that in this matter of text messages and Purolator and all that, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner said on three occasions that Minister Boissonnault was telling the truth about the incident and how things unfolded. The Commissioner feels that the file is closed; he agrees with Minister Boissonnault. I think this shows the wisdom of the parliamentarians who put forward the bill to create an independent commissioner. They got it right.
I imagine that some parliamentarians are frustrated and would like us to go back to a kangaroo court. In a kangaroo court, random people ask questions, judge and decide whether or not to convict the person. In a just society, that is not how things work. The laws and regulations in place are not designed to protect members of Parliament.
Mr. Chair, I don't know if you've experienced this, but when we receive an email or a request from an office because information was missing from our statement, it can be annoying, but at the same time we're happy to see that the system is working as it should. I am pleased to be able to assure my constituents that the system is working.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
Thank you, Mrs. Shanahan.
I will say that, like you, I get asked many times—I know you brought this up at the onset of your remarks—about the ethics committee, and, particularly in chairing the ethics committee, “What's the function of the committee?”
Well, we have a clear mandate of what our function is, but I tell people in my riding, as you tell people in your riding, that it's an oversight committee. There is a majority of opposition members on this committee for a reason—that's true not just for this committee, but for government operations and public accounts—and that is to hold the government to account. I think we do that job very well.
Ms. Khalid, go ahead, please, on the motion from Mr. Barrett.
Liberal
Iqra Khalid Liberal Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON
Thank you, Chair.
I think Ms. Shanahan made a lot of excellent points. I'll be brief. I will speak to three reasons as to why I cannot support this motion.
The first is with respect to timing. As you have indicated many times, Chair, our work on social media and on disinformation and misinformation has been quite prolonged because of the timing, because of the scheduling, and you've clearly outlined that. I don't agree with this motion, because I think we've heard from the Ethics Commissioner on three occasions that there is no violation based on our rules of conduct from the Ethics Commissioner. I will leave that be.
The second reason is with respect to witnesses. There aren't any listed on this motion. It seems again as though this is just broadening the scope to the point where it could be anything and everything, which doesn't help the work this committee is doing. It makes us less efficient. It makes us basically waste resources of the House.
Also, as you said, Chair, one purpose of this committee is to provide that oversight. This motion does not help in achieving that purpose.
The last is with respect to the purpose. We're not achieving our purpose, what this committee is supposed to be doing, with this motion.
With that, I will conclude my remarks and say that I will be voting against this motion, and I'm happy to go to a vote now.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
Thank you, Ms. Khalid.
Mr. Fisher, go ahead, please, on the motion.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
MP Khalid just said basically everything that I was planning to say. I'm not interested in supporting this motion.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
Okay. Thank you.
I do not have any other hands. The motion moved by Mr. Barrett is on the floor. Do we have consensus on the motion proposed by Mr. Barrett?
We don't, so I'm going to call the vote.
(Motion negatived: nays 6; yeas 4)
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
The motion fails. I don't see any other business, so I am going to adjourn the meeting. We'll see you all next Tuesday.
The meeting is adjourned.