Finance Committee on Oct. 8th, 2020

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Chair, before you offer a ruling on the point of order, my understanding was that there would be an opportunity to debate the appropriateness of the point of order before you do offer a ruling. If I may offer an explanation, the point of my going through these letters and offering commentary on them is to demonstrate that the transmittal letters, which the members who are opposing the subamendment on the floor are trying to exclude from the evidentiary record before this committee.... In order to determine whether those letters should be excluded from the record formally in our subamendment, I do think it's relevant for the committee to actually hear what those letters said. I can't imagine something that would be more relevant to a discussion about transmittal letters than the transmittal letters.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

I—

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Go ahead, Mr. Kelly.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

The substance of this is not transmittal letters. Also in the procedure and practice...it's not merely repetition that are grounds upon which the chair may rule against excessive reading into the record. If doing so is vexatious in design, as this clearly is, to simply avoid a vote, the chair may rule it out of order. I bring those points to your attention.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

I have a point of order, too, Mr. Chair, but—

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Okay.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

—it's not on this point. I guess you would have to rule on that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Okay. It's not on this point. The letters that Mr. Fraser has been reading are really relative to the subamendment, and I haven't heard.... Although they go to somewhat the same point, there's different information in each letter that goes to the relevance of the subamendment, so I'm going to allow it.

Mr. Fraser, it's back to you—

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

I believe Mr. Gerretsen actually had a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Yes, we have Mr. Gerretsen on a point of order.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

I know that you've ruled on the necessity of the members' screens to be on, and I respect that, but I just want to know what you deem, Mr. Chair, to be a quorum. For example, if we were sitting in a committee room and people started actually leaving the room, you would know if we no longer had a quorum. When people are turning off their video cameras, we don't know if they're still there listening, or if Mr. Poilievre has gone to Starbucks, or what's going on. How are you determining, if enough screens go off, whether or not you still have a quorum to continue the meeting, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

I would determine it based on the people who I can see, and we haven't been—

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

So if all—

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

—below that number yet.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Oh, he has his Starbucks. He came back with his Starbucks. He could have brought one for everybody, at least.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

I have a point of order, too. Is it going to be all right—

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Just hold on, Ms. Jansen.

Are you done your point of order...?

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

It's on the same thing.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Is it to my point of order, Mr. Chair?

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Yes.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Okay, great, because I'd like to hear a ruling on that.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

I would like to know whether or not bathroom breaks are all right if we turn off the video.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Yes, Ms. Jansen, for a very short time.... When I need a bathroom break we're going to suspend for three minutes.

In any event, on Mr. Gerretsen's point, I certainly would prefer if people would leave their cameras on so that we can see that the members are present. When we're at an official committee meeting in person in Ottawa, the people are there, and if they leave the room it's quite easy to see who's there and who's not. All I see in some cases—in this case—is that the names are up, but I really don't know if they're present or not.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Just to that point—