Evidence of meeting #1 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:50 p.m.
The Clerk
Mr. Chair, I apologize for intervening.
Mr. Lobb has raised a point of order.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Ben Lobb Conservative Huron—Bruce, ON
I have a point of order for my colleague.
The point of order is that he is now presenting how many he has ordered, and I never disputed the order. I'm saying, how many are in inventory now to continue on with these orders? He's presenting some facts, not all the facts. I understand that they have ordered a lot of masks and PPE, and I think we all agree that's great. Now, I think we're at the point where that is irrelevant, unless he knows how many are in inventory and what is triggering future purchases, which I don't think either of us knows.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Robert Gordon Kitchen
Thank you, Mr. Lobb. It is a matter of debate.
Mr. Kusmierczyk, you have the floor on the discussion on the amendment to the amended motion. Let's try to stay close to that and focus on the issues, please.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Irek Kusmierczyk Liberal Windsor—Tecumseh, ON
Absolutely, Mr. Chair.
What I'll say is that the amendment by my colleague MP Housefather encapsulates the spirit of Madam Vignola's motion. I think the spirit of the motion, which I think is supported by everybody around this table, is that ideally we would want to see made-in-Canada PPE procured. But at the same time, it doesn't establish a fact or use the language of fact. When no fact has been brought forward or been established at all, what are we working from as a committee?
I would implore committee members to adopt MP Housefather's amendment, because it captures the spirit of what we're trying to accomplish here. We want to promote Canadian-made PPEs and support Canadian-made companies, but it doesn't state that we established as fact something that has not been established as fact, because we haven't had the opportunity to actually have that discussion here.
That's what I would bring forward. That's why I would support the amendment put forward by MP Housefather.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Robert Gordon Kitchen
Thank you, Mr. Kusmierczyk.
Mr. Housefather, I see your hand up.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
I guess my point is that I'm trying to listen. I always try to see if there is consensus. I'm trying to listen to the members of the committee. I think the issues we've raised are real and legitimate. Nobody knows what the stock is right now. At the very least, we need to amend the date of January 31, 2022. I mean, that's at the very least, because nobody knows when it would be possible to accomplish this. We need to use the words “as soon as reasonably possible”.
Mr. Chairman, maybe I made an error in trying to put together multiple components into one amendment. If there is unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment, I'd be prepared to move simply the timeline as an amendment. Then we could take things one by one. I don't think the word “deplores” is right, but I can make that a separate issue.
For me, if we want to not prolong this meeting forever, I would be okay with withdrawing the three-part amendment that I put forward and simply proposing to amend things by removing the date of January 31, 2022, and saying “as soon as reasonably possible”.
I would need unanimous consent to withdraw and then remake that simple smaller amendment. If my colleagues want to do that and we want to try to foster a spirit of collegiality, I would be prepared to do that.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Robert Gordon Kitchen
Boy, this is.... Which one are we looking at?
Okay. Right now Mr. Housefather is asking for unanimous consent to withdraw his amendment to the amended motion. Do we have unanimous consent for that to happen? We do have a time limit today and we still haven't even got through this motion. We want to at least give us some action so that we can move forward.
Is there unanimous consent to withdraw Mr. Housefather's amendment?
I see no hands saying “no”.
(Amendment withdrawn [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Mr. Housefather, I'm going to give you a very quick second to propose what you are suggesting.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Basically, the amendment I am proposing is that we remove the date, “January 31, 2022”, and instead say “as soon as reasonably possible”.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Robert Gordon Kitchen
Thank you for that.
We now have an amendment to the amended motion. It would change “January 31, 2022” to “as soon as reasonably possible”.
Is there any discussion on that amendment?
I do see hands up. I think Mr. Paul-Hus was first, and then Ms. Vignola.
12:55 p.m.
The Clerk
No, Mr. Chair, I believe it was Mr. Johns and then Madame Vignola.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Thank you.
Before I move anything, is it possible for the clerk to read the motion where we are now? I'm getting a bit lost.
12:55 p.m.
The Clerk
One moment please, Mr. Chair. I will pull up the motion.
I'm pulling up the amendment that was sent. There was one amendment already adopted to the motion. I will read what I understand to be the motion as amended at this point: “That, in light of the Prime Minister's call to the country's businesses to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) and that since then, several Quebec and Canadian businesses have responded, the committee deplores the fact that the masks distributed on Parliament Hill and in the various federal departments and agencies come from abroad and not from local businesses; that the administration of the House and the federal government take steps to ensure that, as of January 31, 2022, the masks distributed on Parliament Hill and in the various federal departments and agencies come from Canadian companies that produce this type of personal protective equipment; and that the chair of the committee write to the Speaker of the House to inform him of the situation and ask that measures be taken to resolve the situation before the date specified in the motion.”
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Robert Gordon Kitchen
Thank you, Mr. Clerk.
Mr. Johns, that is the amended motion that we have. Mr. Housefather has proposed that “January 31, 2022” be changed to “as soon as reasonably possible”, in my slang.
Go ahead, Mr. Johns.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
I would like to move an amendment to the original motion. After “masks”, I would like to add “and hand sanitizer” before the word “distributed”.
Moreover, after “steps to ensure that, as of January 31, 2022“, I would like to add after the federal government and the House provide a timeline that mask and sanitizer that can be distributed on Parliament Hill and in the various federal departments and agencies come from Canadian companies, the following words, “and made in Canada that produce this type of personal protective equipment”.
1 p.m.
The Clerk
Mr. Chair.
1 p.m.
The Clerk
I believe Mr. Housefather moved an amendment to replace the date “ January 31, 2022”, with, I believe, “as reasonably possible”. That is the amendment on the floor.
I'm not sure if Mr. Johns is moving this as another amendment that he wishes to consider after Mr. Housefather's amendment is dealt with. I'm just seeking clarity.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Robert Gordon Kitchen
My assumption is that he's going have to make that amendment to the amendment that we're discussing—Mr. Housefather's—which is “as soon as reasonably possible”.
1 p.m.
The Clerk
Mr. Chair, could we suspend so that I could speak with you privately, please? Thank you.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Robert Gordon Kitchen
Certainly.
We'll suspend for five minutes.
Sorry, in Saskatchewan, five minutes goes by very quickly. We will resume.
Mr. Johns, unfortunately, we're discussing an amendment by Mr. Housefather, which is a very small amendment. Your proposal is actually outside the context of Mr. Housefather's amendment.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Robert Gordon Kitchen
Yes, if you would just hold off on that for now, you may be able to bring it up at a different point in time, but this wouldn't be the time for that.
Thank you.
Everyone, I'm just clarifying that we are talking about the change by Mr. Housefather to the date, changing “January 31, 2022” to “as soon as reasonably possible” in the amended motion.
Go ahead, Ms. Vignola.
1:05 p.m.
Bloc
Julie Vignola Bloc Beauport—Limoilou, QC
This is particularly unclear. I was criticized earlier for a lack of facts in my motion. However, it's easy to see that the masks aren't made in Canada. My motion is very simple. It's about supporting our workers and companies and setting an example on Parliament Hill.
I never, ever thought that I would face so much opposition or filibustering in order to protect our workers and companies. When I'm told “as soon as reasonably possible,” what does that mean? Does it mean February 1, 2022, 2023, 2645? It's remarkably unclear. This is about our workers and our health, because the masks made here meet our high standards.
That's what this motion addresses. It's about protecting our people.
Why is there so much opposition to this? Why are there so many barriers to protecting our people?
1:05 p.m.
Conservative