Evidence of meeting #33 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was homeless.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Goodyear
Thank you very much, Mr. Hill.
Any further questions for our witnesses?
Monsieur Proulx.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
I have a comment.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the witnesses today for coming to see us. Some of our questions might have sounded very negative, but we want to get to the bottom of this and we want to see how we can address the problems.
I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your fantastic work, outside of this room, I mean, your day-to-day volunteer work and other work. We appreciate it very much. And thanks to you, our communities are so much better.
Thank you.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Thank you, Chair.
I'd like to echo Mr. Proulx's comments. I think it's really important for us to hear directly from people in the communities. As Mr. Preston has said, if you can provide more ideas it would be terrific. We should also pass on to the Chief Electoral Officer what we heard today. I wish he had been here to hear from you today, but we have the minutes for that.
The last thing I'd like to mention, Chair, is based on some of the issues we heard today. Perhaps we could ask Ms. Stoddart, the Privacy Commissioner, to be a witness to address some of the concerns around privacy. I think it would be interesting to have her come to answer some of the concerns that were presented today, because I don't think this issue has been really dealt with before. Since you have illuminated some of the concerns around privacy, it would be terrific to have Ms. Stoddart present.
Thank you very, very much for the work you do every day and particularly for the work you've done today.
Thank you.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Goodyear
Thank you, Mr. Dewar, it is duly noted. We will deal with that under future business.
Witnesses, it's not often that I have my work done for me, but you have been thanked. I want to echo on behalf of all the committee members the great work that you do outside of this room, and in particular the great work that you've done today by providing this committee with clear and concise answers and some great and valuable information.
I appreciate very much you coming down on short notice. Mr. Nothing, I know you were called in at the last minute. We thank you for compromising and cancelling and whatever else you had to do to get here. We certainly appreciate that.
I also don't like handing out homework, so I would like to thank my other colleagues for handing out homework. Mr. Preston and some committee members have made requests for some very easy to obtain, I hope, information. As chair, I would simply wish that you could get that to our clerk at your very earliest convenience so we can try to get it into both official languages and distribute it to folks.
Thank you very much, witnesses. Again, we certainly appreciate you coming. I hope you enjoyed your lunch. You are actually at this moment dismissed, with our gratitude.
Colleagues, while the witnesses are excusing themselves, I would like to carry on with some business that we don't need to go in camera for, so we will stay in public at this moment.
You have before you a copy of the committee's budget. I was informed by the clerk that the budget for the next few months, or the next session, needs to be looked at and approved by the committee. As all committee members are aware, this budget is to deal with the expenses of witnesses, for the most part, specifically Bill C-31.
We don't often have lunches. I believe this might be the second time this committee has worked through lunch. Again, I appreciate the indulgence of all members, who work extremely hard on this committee. We may have the need for another lunch next week. We'll see how that goes. Ultimately, that is what the budget in front of you is for.
Are there any questions regarding the budget? I will allow my clerk to answer the tough ones and I will answer the easiest.
No questions? It's a standing procedure, of course.
May I have committee approval for this budget?
12:50 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Goodyear
We will take one minute to go in camera and discuss future business.
[Proceedings continue in camera]