Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Nov. 7th, 2017

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

We'll start with this item.

We asked the minister to send a letter on what she was looking for with regard to the leaders' debates commissioner. She sent it, so people have that. It's as much an information item as anything else. I haven't read it, because we just got it.

I don't know if anyone wants to comment on that or if we could leave it as an information item.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

We'll leave it and then discuss it in public on, say, Thursday.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

Okay. That's this Thursday.

By Thursday of constituency week, everyone is bringing in their witness list.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Is the deadline on Thursday 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.?

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

It's at 5 p.m.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

It's 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 16.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

Yes.

The second item is really quick. Maybe we'll just make this a standard procedure.

There's a group from Ghana coming November 28 to 30. With other parliaments, we've set up an informal meeting outside PROC time when any member who wants to come can do so. Unless I hear otherwise, or there's nothing controversial, maybe we'll just do that when we get requests, if that's okay with the committee members. I'll just inform you that it's coming, and if someone has an issue, we can bring that up at committee.

Ms. Malcolmson, I wasn't at the subcommittee, but there are people here who were. On your private member's bill, administration said it should be non-votable because it was similar to a government bill, Bill C-64. She has the right within five days to appear before the committee or send written reasons stating why she disagrees. Five days would elapse the Monday after we get back, so we'd have the Monday after we get back. Basically we need to schedule time either this week or on the Monday we get back when she could present to committee, and committee could make a decision.

Go ahead, Mr. Graham.

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I suggest, so we don't force ourselves to have an extra meeting, that we try to append it to the end of the meeting on Thursday, from 1:00 to 1:30 or something like that.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

I want to be clear. Are we talking about the consideration of her request or about holding the meeting?

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

We are talking about the timing of when we do the consideration of her request. Oh, she's asked to come before committee.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

Then we're just talking about the timing of when she can come.

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I'm still thinking of Thursday, at the end.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

I just wanted to make sure we weren't having a meeting to plan a meeting. We're going to give her her rights; the question is just when we're going to do that.

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

We're planning the planning meeting now, so we don't need to plan the planning meeting. We're good.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

There we go. We're almost talking plain.

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I was saying that it should be on Thursday at the end of the meeting we already have scheduled, so at one o'clock we could enter into this subject.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

Would it be half an hour?

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I would imagine that would take care of it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

It would be this Thursday.

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

This Thursday, yes, two days from now. Otherwise we have to schedule another meeting between now and—

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

We're talking about a time to have a meeting. Why don't we just do that right now?

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

It's because she has to come too.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

For Thursday's schedule, the first hour is supplementary estimates. The first half hour is on the House of Commons and the second half hour is on PPS, because that's totally separate from the House of Commons budget. Then, in the second hour, the first half hour is on PPS management related to the present labour situation, and the second hour is on the three unions.

We're pretty booked up on Thursday, so our only options are basically to add half an hour to that meeting at one o'clock, as David is suggesting, or to have a special meeting the Monday after we return from constituency week.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

By unanimous consent, the House could do anything. If Sheila agreed....