Evidence of meeting #62 for Finance in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was clause.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Steven MacKinnon Liberal Gatineau, QC
I want a clarification. Wasn't the deadline for recommendations translated?
The Clerk
That's the issue. The issue is that if all of the parties are submitting 2,000 words between now and later tonight to be translated for the meeting at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow—
The Clerk
—logistically it's impossible if all the parties are submitting that much content at the same time.
We're just trying to gauge if we can still respect that 3:30 p.m. deadline in order to have it distributed or not. We're just trying to gauge approximately how many words the translators would have to translate.
NDP
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
We've already addressed this issue. In the past, it wasn't necessary to have the recommendations at the same time as the report. We can cover the full report, which will likely take more than one meeting. Generally, two meetings are required. The recommendations will be available at the end of the second meeting, when we can discuss them properly.
Liberal
Steven MacKinnon Liberal Gatineau, QC
Two meetings were scheduled to discuss the report. Is that correct?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
The clerk indicates to me that the worst-case scenario is we could distribute the recommendations in both official languages Wednesday, as soon as they're available, so that we would have them to discuss on Thursday.
I've been talking to a number of people about this. It's too bad we can't find a meeting soon where we can discuss the whole process of pre-budget consultations. We ran the time frame. It's what's in legislation, I guess, but the Library of Parliament worked nights to no end to get their document together. We didn't have the document for our own review to do recommendations. It's not their fault; it's ours.
I think we really need to talk about this and how we do pre-budget consultations. Whether they're too big or whatever, I don't know, but we really need to refine this thing so we're not stressing people out in the process, so that we have time to do our own work and the Library of Parliament has time to do theirs, and so the clerk's not run off her feet, too. We need that discussion.
What would be the deadline to have them in both official languages, then, if we're to go with that?
The Clerk
They would still have to send them for translation today, because they would have to have been sent to translation today to have them available for 3:30 p.m. tomorrow anyway.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Okay, let's say a page and a half would take two and a half hours. The Liberals' was around—
Liberal
Conservative
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
I think we said that we could go along with the same proposal as Mr. Caron said.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
So that would be five hours.
Okay, so we'll still aim for the 3:30 p.m. deadline tomorrow.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
If it changes, we'll have to deal with it.
Okay, it just gives people a bit of notice of where we are beyond the confusion, but I do think we need to find time to talk, while the situation is still fresh in our minds, on pre-budget consultations. This process is just a killer.
Conservative
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to have very much time squirrelled away in December, but if there is time, we should try to do it. I agree with you.