Evidence of meeting #11 for Health in the 40th Parliament, 3rd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was point.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
If you interrupt me any more, I'm going to suspend this committee. That's what's going to happen.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
If you're going to scream and yell, we're not going to get any information.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
What I'm going to ask you to do now, Dr. Bennett, please, is to raise your point of order, and I won't interrupt you. We each take our turns here.
Dr. Carrie, I trust that you won't be shouting at Dr. Bennett.
Okay, go ahead, Dr. Bennett.
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
I would like to move that the committee express its concern--
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Point of order.
You cannot move a motion on a point of order.
Liberal
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
What's wrong with you? If you're on a point of order, there's no moving a motion, Dr. Bennett.
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
I've been recognized by the chair. I excuse myself that it was not a point of order, obviously.
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
I would like to move that the committee express its concern to the House.
We already explained last week, on Tuesday, that if the ministers did not appear, then this committee would choose to report back to the House that the ministers have not appeared, in keeping with the motion this committee passed on April 17. I think there is the will of this committee to report back to the House that Ministers Toews, Aglukkaq, and Clement did not appear before the committee on April 22 in relation to the study on the cancellation of the HIV vaccine manufacturing facility under the Canadian HIV vaccine initiative, as requested by a motion adopted by the committee on April 17, 2010.
Conservative
Conservative
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
This is outrageous, as I said in my earlier point of order, that they would make such allegations and basically call our ministers liars and ask them to come to committee with just one week's notice. It's outrageous, especially when you look at the committee over the last year. The officials have come here 23 times, Madam Chair. The minister and officials have come for six hours, five times. Other briefings were 36 hours. What's being brought forward is incredibly outrageous and should not be allowed.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Thank you.
This is just a matter of debate on the motion put forward by the member. This is not a point of order.
The member has put forward a number of frankly salacious comments. She wants to condemn officials of the government and ministers of the crown because they didn't appear on apparently a couple of days' notice.
Dr. Bennett, you know what? That's entirely unreasonable. We've given Liberal members weeks' notice at committee, just since I was elected in 2006. Let's not even go back to when you were in government, Carolyn. And I remember--
Conservative
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
I apologize. I'll address the chair.
What Dr. Bennett should be well aware of is that members of her own party often just ignore committee requests to appear. In fact, I recall, for example, that when we were at the ethics committee looking into the Mulroney inquiry, we called a number of current Liberal members to appear. These aren't even ministers of the crown. They just ignored that invititation. Frankly, that was authorized by the majority of members of the committee. They never came. I remember when they dragged us in during the summer.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Well, you know what? Since you want to bring that up, Dr. Bennett--
Conservative
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
We have a dialogue going, though, Madam Chair. It's difficult, but I'll do my best.
Conservative
Conservative
Liberal