Evidence of meeting #156 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 commissioner.
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Liberal
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
I would maybe ask Mr. Baylis if he wants to bring a representative delegation of the people involved, and let him decide who that is, how many, their presentation.... Give them their day in court. Let them take as long as they want, because it's a complex report, and then outline what they hope to get from us. Then we are equipped to make some decisions: What's our time frame? How are we going to bite this off? What information do we need? Is there any research we're going to do? Can we get that under way early, so that it's ready for us?
I'm open to better ideas, Chair.
Liberal
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
I was going to suggest that perhaps the idea would be to advise Mr. Baylis, and everyone involved with writing that motion, of the fact that we're getting the study under way, and say that they are always welcome to come to our committee and be part of the discussion. They're all part of writing it. That becomes an ongoing involvement, instead of a one-off involvement.
I think that would ensure that anybody involved in the creation of this has their opportunity all the way throughout to do it.
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
I think that is an excellent idea, but I, for one, would probably.... As I've said, I'm one of those who contributed, but I'm not a major contributor. There are others—
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Yes. It was more because I'm on this committee, and I was willing to provide the vehicle.
I hear what you're saying. That could flow from what we hear. Then we can decide not only what we're going to do, but who's going to be involved in doing it.
It's such a disparate subject, and so vast. You've got multiple parties, and we have unanimity—we're actually there. If we can just hold that together, and give them a chance to come in and make their pitch as to what they hope to see, and what they realistically hope we can do in the remainder of this Parliament, we can be seized of that. If one of the things we want to talk about is who is part of this, the way we did with some other files we've had, I'd be open to that, at that time.
I still think that, right now, it makes sense to bring them in as early as possible. There is some media interest. This is what they want more than anything—a chance to get these ideas out there. If they did have hope that we were going to conclude it in this Parliament, let's hear that. Some of them are veterans who understand what's entailed in the process of trying to get it done. They may offer us some ideas that we otherwise wouldn't think of, as we set about our work plan.
Again, with the greatest of respect—and I'm not married to the idea—it still seems to make sense to me that our first step, right now, would be to invite them to come in, and give them as much time as they need to make their pitch. From there, we're well equipped to set out our work plan, and the objectives we think we can achieve, in the time available.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
To make this a little more concrete, I'll say that on the 30th we could ask Mr. Baylis and whoever he'd like to bring with him to come to committee. Do you have thoughts on that?
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
The only thing different from our usual rules, Chair, is that I would suggest we give them the courtesy of as much time as they want to make a fulsome and complete presentation, respecting the amount of work that they've put into it.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Yes, it's a bit longer than 10 minutes would cover. As Mr. Reid said, this is very complex. There are all sorts of issues, and I'm sure not everyone is going to agree on everything, so we'll do that.
The meeting is suspended.
[Proceedings continue in camera]