Evidence of meeting #44 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
You can insert a date, or we can make that decision today and then we can go to that discussion. You'd like it to be a part of the motion. All right.
Liberal
Raymonde Folco Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
Eventually. Obviously Mr. Komarnicki doesn't want this, and I supported his part, but I want to add another part to it, which is the date.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
Are you willing to take a friendly amendment, Mr. Komarnicki, concerning the date?
Conservative
Ed Komarnicki Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Not over the objection of my colleague, no.
She can vote the amendment--
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
So you won't support the amendment or the motion. I just want to make sure we have a motion.
Liberal
Raymonde Folco Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
Let me be clear. My question was at what point at this meeting in the discussion about Mr. Komarnicki's motion can I bring in an amendment. It's a real question. I want to know, and I want to have an answer.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
Yes. I don't think that is up to.... If Mr. Komarnicki wants to insert that in his motion at this point, he can. He has chosen not to.
We have two options. We can either discuss and vote on the motion as he has presented it, or you can propose an amendment, or I suggest option number three is that we deal with this motion, which means we're not going to go through clause by clause, and then we discuss our work plan going forward.
Liberal
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
If it's an amendment, then you can propose an amendment right now to his motion. We want to make sure we have the motion, that the clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-481 be tabled. That's the motion. And now we have an amendment.
Liberal
Raymonde Folco Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC
I propose the following amendment, that the clause-by-clause study of Bill C-481 be resumed at the regular meeting of this committee on Thursday, March 3.
The reason I give Thursday is simply that we'll come back on Monday. It gives us two days and possibly a meeting with other people to get the information.
I would like to say, Madam Chair, whether it's Thursday, March 3, or at a later date, what I really want is to have a definite date at which we would resume and finish the study of this bill. If people want a later date, like the next week, I'm amenable to that as a friendly amendment, but I would like to have a specific date.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
All right. Right now we're dealing with your amendment, which would say that the clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-481 be tabled and would resume on March 3.
Yes, Mr. Vellacott.
Conservative
Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
Can you refresh our memories on our work plan right now? What do we have occurring on March 3?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
Yes, I'd be happy to.
We're finishing the adoption study this coming Thursday, and then when we return after the break we are going to be doing Monsieur Lessard's study on Tuesday and Thursday on the EI referee board. That's what our work plan says right now.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
We hadn't discussed when we were going to be resuming that. According to our work plan, this was—
Tony Martin NDP Sault Ste. Marie, ON
It was first on the list to be done. It was referred to the committee by the Speaker to be dealt with.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
Mr. Martin, unfortunately we didn't allot enough time to it. Let me just finish the explanation. I'd be very happy to explain.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
Again, the committee can change the work schedule, but I'm just answering the question as to what the work plan is for the next Thursday and the following Tuesday and Thursday when we return.
You are capable and able to change it, and that will be up to the committee.
Right now, we are discussing an amendment to a motion. The amendment would say we would resume the clause-by-clause on March 3.
Next on our speaking list...
Mr. Lessard, we'll get to you, but Madam Minna, you were on the list to speak. Did you want to speak to this amendment?
Liberal
Maria Minna Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to say a couple of things. I don't disagree with Mr. Komarnicki's original motion, but I do think we ought to have a deadline. I'm concerned that other things might come up, and I don't want to have to go back to another meeting.
We had identified this as a priority at one point. These things happen when you're doing legislation. It's an important piece of legislation.
Because of new information, we need to do our job properly. I understand if not March 3, then the week after, but I would like to see a date.
If our colleagues opposite could agree, if it's not Thursday, March 3, then the following week—I can't remember what we were doing—we could choose a day then. In the meantime, we'll have had a lot of time for all of us to look at the amendments, to discuss them with respect to our own people, come back, maybe discuss some unofficially, and then come back and finish it off.
I would really like to put a date on it. That's my request.
I know there are motions on the floor, and I appreciate that.
Conservative
Liberal
Maria Minna Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Maybe we can amend those motions if there are friendly amendments on the other side to agree to a date. We can change the amendment to another date, or I could do that.
But I would rather see a specific date we could come back to.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Candice Bergen
Right now we're dealing with an amendment that says March 3.
Committee members, we only have about six minutes left, because I have to talk very quickly about next week's meeting. We have a number of speakers on the list. This is a bit silly, to be frank. But anyway, I guess we'll just continue speaking.
Mr. Savage.