Government Operations Committee on Oct. 5th, 2010

[An hon. member]

Could we have a recorded vote, please?

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Yes. We'll proceed to a recorded vote.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a tie vote. I'll vote in favour of the motion.

(Motion agreed to: yeas 6; nays 5)

We have exactly two minutes left. Unless there is other business, I'll adjourn the meeting.

Yes.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

I just want to table two different motions, one with regard to the witness list for Bill C-429. I think it's important that we start to establish that. Maybe at our next meeting we could take some time to handle that.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

That's a good idea. I was thinking about that for the end of Thursday's meeting.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Okay, so I'll table the motion with regard to that.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Before you finish with that point, the list of witnesses at this point is four pages long for a private member's bill. It's a little long. Is there a methodology you can use to trim this?

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

I know, Mr. Chair, you desire to have a full airing when it comes to private members' bills, and certainly we want to give the member an opportunity to speak. There is a landslide, an onslaught of people who want to come and speak to this private member's bill. There are people in every region in every industry who are opposed to this bill, and it's important that they have an opportunity to come to speak. And there are many different perspectives for which there are strong rationales. So I think it's important that we don't limit debate on this bill and that we give a full airing to the people who want to come.

I also have a motion with regard to creating a subcommittee of this committee. We ended up at this meeting today having had very little preparation time because we found out only yesterday who the witnesses would be. So it's important for us, as committee members, to have a subcommittee at which this can be hammered out, so that there will be the chance for additional preparation time for committee members.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

I'm fine with that.

Mr. Regan, on point one or point two? Point one has to do with the witness list.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

I don't want to say I've lost count. There are only two.

Can we set aside 15 minutes in the next meeting to deal with other business, including this?

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

At the end of the next meeting? I'm happy with that.

Is that a direction to the chair?

[Some hon. members]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

A final comment to Mr. Martin.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

On that point, I couldn't help but notice, as the question rounds went around and around, that the NDP hardly ever gets to ask a question. When we go into the five-minute rounds, should we finish a witness's questioning after we've done one complete round of seven minutes and one complete round of five minutes, unless there's a good reason to go further? That could be the end of it and we could get other business done as well. I don't think it's fair that other parties get four and five rounds to the NDP's one.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

You would have to bring that as a motion, I would take it, and you'd have to get the consent of your colleagues. The first round is actually eight minutes rather than seven. Nevertheless, that has been the custom of this committee. If it wishes to change the custom--

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Usually we don't keep going around and around in the second round.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

I imagine you don't always have the same witness for two hours either.

Absent of anything else, the meeting is adjourned until next Thursday morning.

Thank you very much.