Evidence of meeting #107 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was travel.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
If there's any community for which we don't have any witnesses, it's problematic to leave it on the list. It would be a bit of an embarrassment to spend tens of thousands of dollars to go for no witnesses.
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
It's a very rushed way to do it, for sure, but we'll do our best.
Liberal
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
May I throw something out there, if I have a second? An idea to put out there for witnesses while we travel would be to invite returning officers in the riding we're going to and nearby ridings, who have the most on-the-ground experience with the administration of elections.
Liberal
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
I think it would be helpful to have a couple across the country, if we're short on witnesses in an area, to invite the returning officers in that area. It's an idea I am putting out there.
Especially in Halifax, to get the ones from rural Nova Scotia and the area would be very helpful, because we'd want someone with lots of experience in administering elections in the areas we're affecting.
The Clerk
There was some discussion during the suspension as well about whether Tsawwassen was the ideal location for Vancouver or whether it would be better to be in Vancouver proper.
Liberal
Liberal
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Yes, I was saying earlier that, especially for the witness side of things, if we're looking to have a panel or two, for people who don't know Vancouver, going out to Tsawwassen means going out past the airport away from the two major universities. Tsawwassen wouldn't have been my first pick necessarily, because it's near the airport on the opposite side from the town. It would be not quite like going from Toronto to Barrie, but mentally it would be. In other words, we're going to lose witnesses, if we go that way.
There are reserves, as the chair would know, in Vancouver. There is the Musqueam and the Tsleil-Waututh, which is on the north shore. The Musqueam reserve land is UBC. It's not going on what most people.... It's just that logistically, if you ask a UBC professor to come out to Tsawwassen, it's an hour each way for them, minimum.
I think we're going to just not get people, as compared with their getting on the SkyTrain and going to this other place.
Liberal
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Remember that in Vancouver we have the whole day. It's the only place we have the whole day, because we arrive the night before. If you really were hooked on Tsawwassen, you could do it for an hour or two in the morning to meet with community leaders, then do the Vancouver part.
The Clerk
One of the advantages for us in planning is that we knew the that facility in Tsawwassen was available on the Friday. We had done some preliminary research into that.
The Clerk
There is flexibility here, so we can look at other venues in Vancouver, and if for some reason we can't find a suitable spot—
Liberal
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
Who wouldn't want to come out to speak to a prestigious committee like PROC?
NDP
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Okay, we'll try to find another location and another first nation in Vancouver, one that's closer—
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
There are three or four that are much more accessible.
Were you on the one when we went to...? No, the committee wasn't with me that time.