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.
3:45 p.m.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Hold on. I would change that to read “a member of the government party”.
3:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
All right.
Is everybody clear?
Could we have a mover for that motion?
3:45 p.m.
Conservative
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Gerry Byrne Liberal Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL
I don't think we need a seconder.
(Motion agreed to) [See Minutes of Proceedings]
3:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
We'll go to the motion on reduced quorum: that the chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence printed when a quorum is not present, provided that at least three members are present, including one member of the opposition.
November 14th, 2007 / 3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Allen Conservative Tobique—Mactaquac, NB
I'd like to make an amendment, Mr. Chair.
What I would suggest, in keeping with the consistency of the previous motion, is that we also include that three members be present, including one member from the opposition and one from government.
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
Gerry Byrne Liberal Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL
The requirement for the calling of the meeting would be the presence of the chair, which obviously would have to be a member of the government, so therefore I would argue—
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
3:50 p.m.
Bloc
Yvon Lévesque Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
In the motion that is before us, is quorum two people?
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
No, a quorum is three: “provided that at least three members are present”. This is a reduced quorum.
Go ahead, Mr. Epp.
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Ken Epp Conservative Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB
Quite clearly, this is a reduced quorum just for hearing witnesses. You cannot conduct normal business—
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Ken Epp Conservative Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB
It's just for gathering evidence. It just simply says, the way the motion is worded, that there must be at least three members of the committee present in order to hear it, and of those at least one must be from the opposition and one must be from the government side. It's totally clear.
3:50 p.m.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
I was wondering if Stephen could advise us on what other committees do in this particular case and what examples we can follow from.
3:50 p.m.
The Clerk
Mr. Chairman, I think that in most cases this question has not been brought up. It's usually just a member of the opposition, I thin. This is just historically.
3:50 p.m.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
So what is the makeup of that reduced quorum generally, in your view?
3:50 p.m.
The Clerk
Usually the makeup of the reduced quorum is the chair, who is usually from the government party, but not necessarily, depending on the meeting. Usually it's at least a member from the government party and a member from the opposition. But unless the motion is clear, any combination is possible.