Fisheries Committee on Jan. 20th, 2022

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

I call the meeting to order. We'll start meeting number three of our Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

Before I get into the normal rant that I give at the beginning, I'm going to ask for the committee to agree here. We all know how to use Zoom now and we know how to use the raised hand function, so I'd like to skip over the big speech that I normally read and just highlight these facts for you: Please direct all comments through the chair and we'll get to everybody in order.

As we left off on Tuesday, we had a list of people who had raised their hand to introduce motions. We'll continue on with that list. The first one up today will be Mr. Cormier.

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Good morning, everyone. I hope you are all well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Serge, could I interrupt for one moment? I forgot to do something important. Madame Desbiens asked if she could have a short intervention before we continue with the motions.

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Yes. I also have a point of order at the beginning, but we can certainly let Ms. Desbiens go ahead. It's probably the same thing, but anyway, go ahead, Ms. Desbiens.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

I also have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Go ahead, Madame Desbiens.

[Caroline Desbiens, Bloc, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It was Mr. Cormier's birthday yesterday, so I wanted to mark it with a little song.

[ The member sings the following lyrics:]My dear Serge
On your birthday
I would like to hug you with my voice
And tell you out loud what everyone thinks in secret
May happiness surround you
May happiness surround you

Happy birthday, Serge!

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Happy birthday.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Happy birthday, Serge.

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you, Mrs. Desbiens.

I know that Mrs. Desbiens is an excellent singer. This is not the point of order I wanted to make, Mr. Chair, but I thank her very much.

Thanks, everybody, for wishing me a happy birthday for yesterday.

Mr. Chair, I have a point of order at the beginning before I talk about my motion.

I know I can express myself in English. You have seen it since I have been on the committee. Nevertheless, it is sometimes a bit difficult for me to follow the debates. I need interpretation, and I think that Mrs. Desbiens also uses it often. In fact, this is as much the case for us francophones as it is for the anglophones.

At the last meeting, when it came time to vote, it was a bit difficult for me, and for Mrs. Desbiens as well, I'm sure, to follow the motions and amendments. The interpreters do an extraordinary job, but sometimes there is a delay of a few seconds—

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Mr. Chair, could I interrupt for just one second? I'm hearing both voices at the same time. I'm hearing Serge and the interpreter, and I can't make out either.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Have you set “Translation” on “English”, Mr. McLeod?

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Yes, I have.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

It's strange for you to hear both.

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Are you guys hearing it, or am I the only one hearing both?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

You're actually on twice. Your name is showing up on the screen twice, once with your picture and the other with the sound. When you speak, it's not your picture that lights up as yellow; it's the other one, the sound. You're actually on twice somehow. That's maybe why you're hearing the French and English.

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

That means I have two votes, Chair, at committee.

I don't know why I'm on twice.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

We'll see how you make out with the two votes, but that might be why you're hearing it twice.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Chair, there was an overlap on mine as well. It was distinct. Serge was on and the interpreter as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Tina, can we check why they would hear both?

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Tina Miller]

Yes. We're looking at it right now here in the room.

Mr. McLeod, you're going to get a phone call.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Is that better now, Serge?

If you continue, Serge, and it's not doing what it's supposed to do, I'll stop again.

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

I was saying that when it came to voting on motions, it was sometimes difficult. Even though I can speak English, I sometimes use interpretation to better understand what is going on, and I know that Mrs. Desbiens has to do the same thing. I say this as much for francophones as for my anglophone colleagues. If Mrs. Desbiens or I present a motion in French only, the interpretation may be delayed a bit, even though the interpreters do an excellent job, and the same goes for interpretation from English to French.

I suggest that you, Mr. Chair, or the clerk confirm that we all understand the motion and the amendments before we vote. Often, when we vote, we have to vote when the interpretation is not complete. It is a bit confusing for us.

It goes both ways. It's more of a collegial thing, and we can all benefit from it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Thank you for that, Serge. I will try to remember to ask for a short delay before we get into any vote.

Tina has her hand up.

[The Clerk]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

After speaking with the ambassadors here in the room—this may be more specifically for Mr. McLeod, but it can apply to everyone else—at the bottom of your screen where you see the option “Interpretation”, if you select to mute the original audio, that will cut out the additional sound.