Finance Committee on Dec. 1st, 2009

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

We are now in public session.

We will go to the motion from Mr. Wallace, please.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[An hon. member]

It's not Mr. Wallace.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Yes, it's my motion first.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Mr. Wallace says it's his.

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I asked that my motion be dealt with right away, not Mr. Wallace's.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

I am first.

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I did not ask that the entire agenda be postponed. We are dealing with notices of motion that have been filed. I referred to my motion, not Mr. Wallace's.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Monsieur Laforest, you know the rules as well as I do. We received Mr. Wallace's motion first--

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

It's written in black and white, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Monsieur Laforest, we received Mr. Wallace's motion first. I've been advised by the clerk that we deal with motions in the order we receive them. We received Mr. Wallace's motion first and we are dealing with it first. Depending on the outcome of that motion, we will then proceed to your motion, or not.

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Chair, the dilatory motion I have just made asks that the notice of motion by Jean-Yves Laforest be discussed. I never mentioned the motion by Mike Wallace. That is very clear, and I think there are people here who can testify to it. I therefore challenge your decision, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

You have to move a motion on the orders of the day. What we were discussing was the pre-budget report. We were not discussing committee business. We've now gone public and we are now on committee business. The first item on committee business is Mr. Wallace's motion. Mr. Wallace has the floor, and that is the decision of the chair.

Mr. Wallace, you have the floor.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

If you think I'm going be talked out of it, you're wrong.

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Chair, I challenge your decision, and I ask you to put it to a vote immediately.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay, the chair has been challenged. There's no debate on a challenge to the chair. We'll call the members.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

So you're....

[An hon. member]

No challenge.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

I'm not challenging the chair--

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

There's no debate on it.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

--but the clerk's decision was--

[An hon. member]

No debate.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Is that a clarification?

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Can we hear what the clerk says about the rules?

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay, the vote is on the challenge to the chair.