Evidence of meeting #20 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was elections.
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11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joe Preston
We will call our meeting to order. We're getting a bit of a late start and we hope we can get in as much as we possibly can.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK
Point of order, Mr. Chair.
We are getting a late start and I think all our colleagues know there will be other bells interrupting the proceedings, so my suggestion would be that we extend the hours of sitting beyond one o'clock. Our commitment has been to have Monsieur Mayrand here for an hour and a half. If we could sit until 1:30 p.m. or two o'clock, whatever it takes, that would fulfill our obligation. I'm certainly looking forward to questioning Mr. Mayrand. There's a number of things that all parties and all members have, ideas, questions, comments that we may have, and we want to have that dialogue with Monsieur Mayrand.
That's my suggestion, Chair. Instead of only having 45 minutes or something today because of bells and votes, why don't we just sit longer?
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joe Preston
That's a good suggestion, but we have to ask our guest whether he can or can't. We will be interrupted one more time for bells and votes, it appears, and then we would come back.
Monsieur Mayrand, I don't know how flexible your day is. I have not had a chance to talk to you.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joe Preston
Super. Thank you.
From the opposition side, are we okay if we try our best to be flexible and put the time back in after?
11:30 a.m.
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
I certainly don't feel any kind of joy at this moment. I understand what the government is doing. It looks like they're attempting to repair the damage they've done, because it's very clear there were disruptions and they were meant to be disruptions.
We'll accept the fact that we'll get the 90 minutes today and whatever pieces we can, but I want you to know that if not the letter, then the spirit of the agreement we had was broken. The intent was, I gave assurances to the government that when the minister was invited here, in exchange for something else, another deal that we had that held, I offered to make sure that the minister came, uninterrupted, no games, no points of order, and we honoured our word.
I thought, Mr. Lukiwski, through you, that we had an honourable agreement and that what should have happened here today was that Monsieur Mayrand should have taken the floor at eleven o'clock, and we should have had our two hours, and we should have had our one and a half hours with him, uninterrupted, exactly the way we gave the minister.
While we have no choice but to accept whatever we can get, make no mistake that the government's intent today was to break the promise in a very dishonourable way, and now they're trying to come back and they're trying to put humpty dumpty back together because they know they've lost all credibility on this.
Make no mistake, Chair, there's been some damage done to our ability to trust one another when we make deals. Not only that, it was a public agreement. I just can't get over the fact—
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joe Preston
I'm going to stop you because I asked a question, yes, and I really wasn't looking for a lecture.
11:30 a.m.
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Well, now I'm saying “point of order”, so now you do, with respect, sir.
Point of order.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joe Preston
Before your point of order, Mr. Reid had said “point of order”.
Let's not play these today. We have the circumstances we have—
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joe Preston
Your chair has no control over the happenings in the House, and I'd like to get the committee going.
We have the witness. I really would love to start hearing from him.
11:30 a.m.
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
I will, Chair. I will wrap up. I've no interest in trying to do another lengthy dissertation, trust me. I'm still trying to recover from the last one.
I just want to express how I believe that the spirit if not the letter of the agreement that we made in good faith has been broken and violated. It has done damage, and the government, particularly Mr. Lukiwski, is going to have to go a long way to earn back the credibility and respect they had before the antics of today. The last thing I'll say is this better be the end of it, and we'd better get back to doing the business and honouring agreements when we make them.
Thank you, Chair.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joe Preston
Then let's get to that.
I'll leave you and Mr. Lukiwski to have that discussion privately.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK
I can assure the member opposite, number one, I take great umbrage that he's pointing out that I have broken this in the spirit. I offered in good faith at the time to hear Monsieur Mayrand for a good hour and a half. My suggestion to extend it is so that we will have a full hour, actually more than a full hour. After the votes finish at 12:30 p.m., we'll probably be back here at 12:45 p.m., and we'll have an hour and fifteen minutes, uninterrupted, plus what time we have now. That will be actually more time than when we had offered. So I take great umbrage at the suggestion that we're trying to break the spirit.
I have always negotiated—you know this, David—in good faith and I will continue to do so; hence my offer here. We will end up having more time with Monsieur Mayrand today, under my suggestion, than we would have had originally.
