Procedure and House Affairs Committee on June 9th, 2011

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

I think ten minutes is an excessive amount for opening comments for individual witnesses, and I'm not sure we've ever given that, though that is what it says here. I will also recognize that there have been witnesses who have taken ten minutes when asked to give a five-minute opening statement, but--

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

I'm not debating that part, Mr. Chair. All I am asking is how this document that was given to us reflects the standing practice of the committee.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

This is a suggestion from the point of view of a principle, as a starting point. I'm suggesting going a little differently.

Mr. Reid.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Maybe the way to handle this would be to have someone just move this as a motion that would replace everything in that particular motion we just adopted after the second line in the English version, after the words “questioning of witnesses, there be allocated” and then the example laid out here.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Did you just move that, Mr. Reid?

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Thank you.

Is there further discussion on this?

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

I'm not understanding.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

That's on a motion we adopted earlier that says something different from this.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

We have not accepted a motion that says.... We're just amending what's counted as routine.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

We can't discuss this without having two separate sets of rules, unless we try to introduce.... Even to introduce it for discussion, I think you have to have it as comprehensible. We'd have either what we have here, the fourth motion on that page, “Time for opening remarks and questioning of witnesses”--

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

We're not anywhere near that. We've accepted nothing from that page.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm all muddled up.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

No, that was on the suggested list.

Okay, that's great.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Since it hasn't been passed yet, we can say this will be our routine proceedings for questioning of witnesses if someone moves a motion to that effect. The chair has only suggested that at this moment.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

I'll move that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

I do have a motion now to accept it.

(Motion agreed to) [See Minutes of Proceedings]

Great. It is unanimous. We've done good work here today.

Are there any other routine motions that the committee sees the need for, besides one on the travelling of the chair to certain far-off places? Okay, so no one moved that one.

Are there any other routine motions for this committee?

Seeing none, we are adjourned for the day. There will be an agenda steering committee at the call of the chair.

I recognize that we will normally meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from eleven to one. We will normally meet also in the....

Mr. Reid.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

I think we normally pass a motion about working meals. You may have forgotten to do that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

We did it.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Oh, boy, am I out of touch.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Excuse me, but I'm not certain I would forget about the meals.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

I think it's a given.

Yes, Mr. Comartin.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

For those of us on the steering committee, perhaps we could be thinking about agenda items for the full committee. I'm thinking in particular of the report on the outcome of the election, and a couple of other reports I would like to have.

I'm just throwing these out as suggestions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

I was just about to get to it--