Fisheries Committee on Feb. 16th, 2016

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I understand that it's Liberal, Conservative, NDP, and Liberal for seven minutes each for the first round.

Is that right, Mark?

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

That's right.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Then for the second round you've gone Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Liberal, and NDP. Is it for five, five, five, five, and three minutes?

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Yes.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Okay. I'm going to speak in favour of that. I think it is consistent with PROC, and it's what we adopted at the health committee too. Seven minutes is.... I looked at your last committee. I think you had 10 minutes for the first round. Is that right?

[A voice]

No.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

No? Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Opening statements were 10 minutes. We usually have seven—

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I just wanted to ask a question. At this committee do you typically have two panels per two-hour meeting, or do you usually have one meeting of two hours each?

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Let me answer that question. As I said, I've been on the committee for four years.

We've done both, and we found that two panels of an hour each worked very well, if the discussion warranted it.

To the members who haven't been on a parliamentary committee before, concerning the allocation of time it's astonishing how fast the time goes, and seven minutes is measurably better than six, believe me. In terms of the second round of five minutes, you get most of the testimony out in the first round, and the second round is often just to clarify it. This type of rotation, as I said, works quite well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Is there any more discussion on this?

Okay. We're going to vote on your amendment, sir. We're voting on what was in—

I'm sorry. Go ahead.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Do we have what the amendment reads, or do we just go by this?

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Go ahead.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

I will clarify again.

For rotation by time, my amendment is to.... If we're modifying the table that you have in front of you, in round one, slot one, would go Liberal; slot two, Conservative; three, NDP; and four, Liberal. All four would be seven-minute rounds. Then round two is Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Liberal, NDP, five-minute rounds, and then three minutes for the NDP at the end.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

I hate to be a stickler, but I'm going to be because we have a motion on the floor that we accept this, the initial one. It was moved by Mr. Arnold, isn't that correct?

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

But what he is doing is proposing an amendment to that motion.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Yes, but as a point of order, don't you have to vote on this and vote it down, and then vote on a new motion?

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

No.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

I'm aware that it's an amendment.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

You vote on the amendment first.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

That's why we go back to the main motion “as amended”.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

It does make sense.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Okay.

Are we ready for the vote now? Does everybody understand now what the amendment—?

Mr. Morrissey.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Just so we're clear, what are we voting on here, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

You see what's in front of you right now.