Subcommittee on Food Safety Committee on June 8th, 2009

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Is it something that needs to be brought up in camera?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Yes, it—

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

No.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

No?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

I would like you to ask the witnesses to stay, because in camera we're going to ask for them to come back.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Are you?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

I think, Mr. Chair—

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

A point of order. Mr. Easter first, and then Mr. Anderson.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

I believe Ms. Bennett said that she was willing to challenge the chair on your ruling, and I believe you should call a vote on that challenge. That's been done. The government members, I believe two or three meetings ago, challenged the chair, and the chair lost on a ruling.

So I believe Ms. Bennett said that she challenges the chair, so you should therefore call a vote.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Mr. Anderson.

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Well, first of all, Mr. Easter has no right to do a point of order on that challenge anyhow—

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

That's right.

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

—but this is asinine. We've come to the end of meetings before when the opposition has gotten nothing out of the meeting that they wanted, so then they have had this production at the end of the meeting.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

It's for actual debate.

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

It's actually pathetic, because Ms. Bennett—

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Mr. Anderson has the floor, Ms. Bennett.

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

—does not even understand that this report has to go back to the main committee by Wednesday night. Is that correct? We've been given directions—

[An hon. member]

Yes, it is Wednesday night.

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

—by the main committee that this committee needs to report back to them. Now, if she wants to change that as well, I guess she's going to have to go to another committee and hijack it as well.

We have work to do.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

That's sad.

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

We need to suspend. The witnesses have been here. They have other things to do. They were scheduled in for this time and have been good enough to give their time. If she has other questions, I'm sure she could write them down. Mr. Bellavance, I think, said he has some written questions for them as well. So I think we should move on.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Exactly. As you had said and agreed upon up to this point, there are some witnesses that we couldn't get here. And I believe it was Mr. Allen's suggestion that they get their submissions to us in writing so that they could be included in the report.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Chair, I want to comment on Mr. Anderson's point. The fact of the matter is that the opposition is not trying to play games here.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is perhaps the most important agency involved in the listeriosis issue and in food safety. You have been challenged, Mr. Chair, that—

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

I was challenged after I suspended the meeting, Mr. Easter.