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.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
Your intention is to split the travel out first and then move the motion.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
We have with us, fortunately, the logistics person, Jill McKenny.
Thank you for joining us.
She's done a little research into the different routes and that kind of stuff. She could update us on some of the options. Some of the rooms that we thought of aren't available at certain times of the week, etc. If you could outline what you've found out, that would probably be helpful for the committee.
The Clerk
Maybe just before we do that, I'll address the committee quickly about some of the information. We'd be looking for some more specific information from the committee about destinations that the committee wishes to go to. I know we have some idea, and Jill and her team have done a fair amount of work already putting together a couple draft budgets based on last evening's discussion, and I think those budgets include Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, somewhere in the Prairies, and Vancouver. It would be helpful to us if the place across the Prairies—those are three provinces—could be narrowed down a little.
The discussion yesterday was about visiting a rural area on that stop as well, and maybe holding meetings in a rural area. We've done a little bit of research, but we haven't had a chance to do any sort of exhaustive research about which rural communities would be able to accommodate the type of hearing that we're anticipating. If members have some guidance for us, that would be helpful.
Liberal
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
If it facilitates the planning a lot quicker to have it in an urban centre because of the facilities that would be available to you, we can have witnesses who are from nearby rural areas come to that meeting and testify. If we are doing an open mike there, we can have it open to people from the rural area, or at the very least....
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
If I could, because it's on the very point that was just raised, we did discuss that yesterday, if you recall, and the point that was made at that time—
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
Okay, so maybe that's why.
The issue with that would be that if you invite people from the rural areas, especially in a town hall type of setting, those voices would be swamped by the urban voices. The whole idea of having a rural location was to give that opportunity—at least in one location, if not more, but I think it was only going to be one—for those voices to be the primary voices. That was the idea.
I know the clerk is looking for some way to narrow down that centre. I understand that you had looked into this a bit and had looked at the idea of Olds, Alberta. I would understand why you would choose Olds, Alberta, because Olds College is located there. It has a very central location. It has the college, and the good facilities for it. It's less than an hour from Calgary airport. It makes sense.
I'm going to throw this in here. It's a selfish matter for me. It's my hometown, where I was born and raised. It's not my constituency. I would not be able to be on the last portion of the week, because I have a private member's motion that's being debated, and I would have to be here for that, obviously.
If we were going there, I would ask for the indulgence of the clerks, my colleagues. It would sure be nice to be there for that, in my hometown where I was born and raised.
If that's the decision you would make to go, I think it is a good choice, not just because it's my hometown but because it does makes sense for all of the reasons of what we're trying to find in this hearing. I would ask that maybe we can facilitate it. Maybe we can flip it and have the travel go west to east, rather than east to west, which would allow....
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
I think as long as I'm here on Thursday, it would be okay.
Liberal
Liberal
The Clerk
Jill has put together a few different scenarios. Maybe at this point I'll let her explain what the options are.
Jill McKenny Coordinator, Logistics Services, House of Commons
In terms of the availability of the meeting space at Olds College, they would be available uniquely at the beginning of the week, so Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
That would be all right. I should have just kept my mouth shut.
Coordinator, Logistics Services, House of Commons
There also seemed to be an interest in possibly the Vancouver area, holding the public hearings in Tsawwassen. That is also only available at the beginning of the week.
The west to east flow works well for those two cities.
In terms of the logistics of getting you there, it's a bit more difficult, because you do lose time, particularly if you're going from Olds to Toronto, meaning that you'll either have to cut your time short in Olds, or start later in Toronto, if you're doing commercial flights. There is a workaround. If you do a chartered flight, that solves those logistical issues. It does come with a price tag.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
I don't mean to question your work. I know you do excellent work; I have worked with you as chair of this committee before. But I know there are a lot of direct flights from Calgary to Toronto.
Coordinator, Logistics Services, House of Commons
Thank you.
There are indeed. It's the timing.
My understanding is that the committee would like to hold public hearings in the afternoon and evening, and because of that, then the Olds portion in the evening would be cut short to accommodate leaving for the 7:19 p.m. flight.
Conservative
Coordinator, Logistics Services, House of Commons
The red-eye would be the only other option, leaving just shortly after midnight, 12:20 a.m., arriving at 6 a.m.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
I could point out, if it's helpful, that in a more rural community sometimes it is a little easier for people to do it during the day than in the evening. In rural communities sometimes the schedules are a little different, if it's farmers or someone like that. Not that their evenings are necessarily any better than their—