Evidence of meeting #5 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was witnesses.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
Either or, he's available the 12th or the 19th. I don't want to put words in his mouth; we were told he'd be available the 12th or the 19th. That's it.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
So we're good with the 19th, for the minister coming in on the main estimates.
NDP
Fin Donnelly NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
Can I suggest the minister come at the earliest possible date after that, so if that happens to be May, at least we get the minister in here?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
You can suggest it, yes, of course. But that's what I mentioned to Mr. Strahl, which is to say to bring in the minister some day in either May or June, because in both those months we haven't scheduled anything for those meetings yet.
Fin Donnelly NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
My suggestion is that we at least get him in here. It's not ideal. It's not what we wanted. Obviously, you'd want the minister within a short number of sessions of the start-up of the committee, but is that not a compromise to get the minister here for both sessions, obviously given his schedule. It's difficult to balance what a minister has to balance but also be in front of the committee to satisfy our motion and the needs of the committee.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
In keeping with the spirit of the motion, we asked him to come to talk about his mandate letter ASAP. I guess that's what you're talking about. The only thing we can do at this point is go back to the minister's office and ask that he make it the next available date following April 21. I haven't talked about April 21 yet but I'll talk about that in a moment. There is something scheduled for April 21.
Conservative
Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC
Mr. Chair, the only question is the main estimates are deemed reported by the end of May. Am I correct?
Conservative
Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC
So we would take the minister on the 19th on his mandate letter if we knew that we could get him on the main estimates prior to May 31, or I guess it would be prior to May 19.
Conservative
Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC
No, I don't really care about the order, other than I think he should defend his estimates as a priority. So given what we've experienced for the last two months, if there's a chance that he's not that available to the committee, I would rather take the guaranteed meeting on the main estimates. If we knew he was available in that next three-week chunk, I would flip the meetings. I think it would make more sense to have him talk about his mandate and then his estimates, but I don't want to have him on the mandate and then not have him appear on the estimates.
All that to say I'd agree with what Mr. Donnelly said as well, getting him here as soon as possible after the 19th.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
We have six meetings at our disposal in the month of May to do that.
The reason I suggested mains over here...it's not a hard and fast rule. It's just in our discussions we say we'll get him ASAP on the main estimates and on the mandate letter ASAP when he is available. We were given the dates 12th or 19th. We just threw in the mains as a suggestion and the mandate letter at that time.
If it's up to the committee to have that second meeting, then we have to explore a date in May. If it's the main estimates it has to be by May 31 or it's deemed reported, whether we talked about it or not. The mandate letter, however, has no time limit.
Conservative
Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC
We will take him on the estimates, because I think it is too unpredictable whether he would be available, based on the fact that we haven't been able to secure him prior to the 19th. Let's do the mains on the 19th and hope for the best, that he will talk to us about his mandate letter before the end of the session.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
We will send communication to the minister's office that we would like to secure his presence for another date down the road. However, do we say that it's about the mandate letter?
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Does it usually take two hours to do the main estimates?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
It normally does. In the last session, it was an hour. Some were an hour; some were two. It varies.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
I understand what you're saying, Mr. Strahl. I totally get that we said we wanted him here for the mandate letter and we wanted him here for the main estimates. Given that the Comox study is timely, and we can't bump that, and we're now looking at May before we can possibly get the minister here again, I'm just wondering if it's possible to do the two on the same day. I know what you're saying, but I guess you're talking about—
NDP
Fin Donnelly NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
I just wanted to clarify that we'd normally have the minister for an hour and officials for an hour. Is that not the case?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
It varies to an extent by committee. I wasn't on the fisheries committee in the last session, so I apologize. You were? Is that how you did it last session?