Evidence of meeting #1 for Finance in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Gentlemen, we're going to try not to get into an argument here over the virtual lines at the moment.
We will suspend—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
—and would the clerk check if the documents and evidence are still on our public website and make the link available, please.
We are suspended for five minutes. We will be back at exactly 13 minutes to one, your time.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
If we could gavel ourselves back in without a gavel, we're away. I see members are starting to pop up.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Wait until members come on, Mr. Poilievre.
I'll make one point first. The clerk of the committee sent an email. You should have it in your system. It says:
Members of the committee:
Please find below, the link to the documents from the Committee Government Spending, WE and the Canada Student Service Grant that are available on the Committee website, from the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session:
The link is below that.
Mr. Poilievre, please go ahead with your point of order, and then we'll go to the question.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Thank you.
There is no implied consent to, at any point, move to adjournment. I just want to make sure that's clear. A vote would have to be held before an adjournment were to happen.
Thank you very much.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
That is a point of information. I recognize that, thank you.
On a point of order, go ahead, Mr. Fraser.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
Sorry, there is one thing I'm still not clear on. I received the email, and it looks like it has links to the various meetings we've had. I haven't seen, on a quick scan through the links in the half a minute or so I've had to look at it, whether my concern has really been addressed around formal receipt by this committee of the documents that the government had disclosed, in response to the committee member.
I'm curious if you or the clerk can confirm whether the total disclosure was formally made, because that's unclear to me. I'm not trying to be tricky. I don't enjoy the idea of voting on documents that I don't know we have. If you could still clear that up for me, I'm still searching for that information.
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Madam Clerk, can you respond to that? Are the documents there on that link?
Evelyn Lukyniuk
The documents that are available on the House of Commons committee website for the finance committee are all the evidence heard from the 43rd Parliament, 1st session and also the documents that were tabled with the committee.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Through that link, the documents asked for by the committee that the law clerk redacted are available on that site. Is that correct, Madam Clerk?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Okay. Immediately prior to prorogation, I don't think they had all been uploaded. They are all there now, I assume.
Liberal
Liberal
Liberal
Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON
I am still struggling to see the documents. I don't know where they are.
I also call the attention of colleagues to parliamentary procedure and practice. We're being asked to make a decision here through a vote. We're being asked to put forward a view when papers and records are not present and made available to us. House of Commons Procedure and Practice specifically mentions that questions of privilege arise on matters of papers or records that need to be made available in order for members of Parliament to come to a decision.
We don't have access to those papers or records. Therefore, I think there are issues of privilege that are present here. I think it is incumbent on us to look at this more closely.
Conservative
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Just for the information of Canadians watching, these are documents that Mr. Fragiskatos, Mr. Fraser and all members of the committee have had since summertime. If they've lost those documents through carelessness, the clerk might do them the favour of re-emailing them the same documents. Let's be clear. These are documents that they know about and that they've possessed, albeit blacked out by their own government. They know exactly what documents we're referring to.
I would ask them to send an email to the clerk and say, “Hello, Madam Clerk. We've lost these documents that you gave us all these months ago. Would you please help us rectify our error and send them again?” That way members of the Liberal side can be up to speed on the documents that they've possessed for the last couple of months.