Evidence of meeting #1 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Clerk of the Committee  Mr. Leif-Erik Aune

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC

I support that.

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

Monsieur Blaney seconds that.

(Motion agreed to)

The whip of the party will determine which one of you gentlemen....

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB

Sorry, did I hear wrong that the motion said it would be a government member?

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON

Yes.

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

No, an opposition member.

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON

No, I said “government member”. That's what is written on my agenda and procedure, maybe.

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

I'm going from last year, Madame Ratansi, and that was the government.

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON

Yes, it was the government, and I'm looking at the previous session.

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

This just says “Conservative”, but it was previously.

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON

Yes, so it is government.

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

Once you have determined who that additional member is, you can let the clerk know.

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON

Sure.

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

The only other question I would have for the clerk right now is whether there are any outstanding issues from the previous Parliament that are left unresolved or studies that the previous committee recommended be passed along to this committee.

3:45 p.m.

The Clerk

From the perspective of procedure and administration, there are several remaining routine motions that committees ordinarily consider and adopt, regarding the services of the Library of Parliament, meeting without a quorum, the distribution of documents, working meals, and others. A complete list of those routine motions adopted by this standing committee in the last session has been distributed to each member. It's in a bilingual column format.

If members wish to either propose or discuss those routine motions, that then would be the normal practice of the committee. Regarding any substantive work, I would propose waiting until after the committee has made up its mind on whether to retain the services of the Library of Parliament before considering the substantive work of the committee.

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

I should also point out that the routine motions you've seen that were adopted by this committee in the previous Parliament are pretty pro forma. They are usually the same routine motions that are adopted by the vast majority of committees. For example, on “Analysts services”, it's as follows:

That the Committee retain the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work.

This is very necessary, obviously.

There are things we've already dealt with, such as the time and opening remarks of witnesses, working meals, meeting without a quorum, etc. I don't have to go through the entire list, because you have them in front of you.

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON

Just go one by one and table it. That way, it is on the record, so there's no confusion.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

If you wish to deal with it in that manner, we can. We can do it as a package. Why don't we start at the beginning, then, with “Analysts services”?

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON

So moved.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

All in favour?

(Motion agreed to)

We do have analysts in the room with us. I invite them now to come and sit with us at the head of the table.

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON

Mr. Chair, taking up on your suggestion, would you like a block motion to go through?

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

That's what I was referring to earlier.

The only point I would make to all members—and the clerk pointed this out again—is on point three, “Witnesses belonging to the same organization”. Apparently, only that routine motion was adopted only by this committee.

The chair has the power to determine some of the things contained in that one motion, so what I would like to do, perhaps, since this was a routine motion of the previous Parliament, is to go down to point five, “Meeting without a quorum”, continue on until we finish on “Notice of motion”, and then go back to “Witnesses belonging to the same organization”, since it was so unique. Does that meet with the agreement of the committee?

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON

Yes.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

We're at “Meeting without a quorum”.

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON

So moved.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

All in favour?