Oh, oh!
Evidence of meeting #1 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 39th 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.
Evidence of meeting #1 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 39th 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.
3:55 p.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
Yes. As a point of interest, my first parliamentary work was sitting side-by-side with Mr. Matthews in 1993, so some of the things I do today I learned by his knee. So if I make mistakes, they're part of it.
Now, to working meals: that the clerk of the committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and its subcommittees.
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
3:55 p.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
You can take that under advisement, if you want.
Again, the motion reads: that the clerk of the committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and the subcommittees.
Moved by Mr. Matthews.
(Motion agreed to)
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
The motion on witnesses' expenses reads: that if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation, and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses, not exceeding two representatives per organization, and that in exceptional circumstances payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the chair.
Is there any discussion?
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
Randy Kamp Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC
I'd just like to point out that in May of 2006 we passed a motion saying “not exceeding one representative per organization”, and with the following clause after it.
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
Just so that it's clear to everybody, I'll read out what we adopted on May 9, 2006: that, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation, and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses, not exceeding one representative per organization, and that in exceptional circumstances payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the chair.
So do we want to have one or two?
4 p.m.
Liberal
Bill Matthews Liberal Random—Burin—St. George's, NL
Mr. Chairman, may I ask where the two comes from? Who's proposing the two?
4 p.m.
An hon. member
That's what we had before.
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
These are the general ones for most committees, I think. Right?
4 p.m.
Liberal
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
The clerk has informed me that really what we adopted May 9, 2006 is what we should be discussing today, but these ones slipped in. So basically there's a little discrepancy between exactly what we had adopted earlier versus what's on the table here. We're following what we have on the table, and if we need to make an amendment or adjustment to one of the motions we have, we'll just refer back to this one.
With this motion, we're either discussing one per organization or two. Is there any—?
Mr. Byrne.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Gerry Byrne Liberal Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL
Mr. Chair, my own personal experience dealing with fisheries matters and fisheries representatives is that often the full story to be told really does take two representatives—quite often. Most of the organizations we hear from are fully volunteer organizations. They don't have paid lobbyists. They often don't really present position papers that have been drafted well in advance. From my own personal experience, hearing the full side of the story from a particular fishermen's organization or whatever often does indeed require two individuals to represent the full organization from that point of view, because quite often one individual represents one aspect of it and they come forward with a second expert witness from the same organization to represent another side of it.
I think that's where the practical wisdom of having two representatives per organization or having that allowance probably comes from.
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
Thank you, Mr. Byrne.
Is there any other discussion?
Mr. Allen.
4 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Allen Conservative Tobique—Mactaquac, NB
I have just a quick question, and it may be something for the clerk. On the interpretation of accommodation and living expenses, depending on the nature of the witness who has to come and if they have other expenses, if they have child care expenses or something like that in order to be here, would the committee deem that part of it, or would it be a completely separate thing we'd have to move? Would that be at the discretion of the chair?
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
It would be at the discretion of the committee.
As of now, we have “discretion of the chair” in the motion—Mr. Epp, you're correct. Do we want to leave it “discretion of the chair” or put it at the “discretion of the committee”?
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
Well, we're going to have a lot of visitors from the Avalon riding.
Go ahead, Mr. Lévesque.
