Evidence of meeting #64 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
I think at that point you should seriously look at hitting every area. We even had calls from the Northwest Territories the last time we travelled, saying that they wanted us up there, and we turned them down.
Also, what we're doing is raising the flag around the whole issue, and it's great that people would want us there.
I wonder, Mr. Clerk, if you would look up the invitation that we had from the Northwest Territories and circulate it, because I kind of felt bad that we ended up ignoring them. If people want the parliamentary committee, we should go.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
11:35 a.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Yes.
Okay, listen, are we going to leave it to the clerk to try to put together what he's heard here, sorting out the cities and what you have you—
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
—and have him distribute that to us during the next couple of weeks?
11:35 a.m.
An hon. member
It'll be in the minutes for this meeting.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
What should we do? I await your direction on this.
We'll go to Mr. Siksay.
11:35 a.m.
NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Mr. Chair, I do have an amendment on the table, and it hasn't been withdrawn. I would be prepared to add an additional clause about Regina or Winnipeg—
11:35 a.m.
An hon. member
Or both.
11:35 a.m.
NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
—and then let the amendment stand and see where the committee wants to go with that amendment.
Chair, there's nothing stopping us from having meetings on the weekend between those two weeks, as well. So we would work over that weekend.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Dave Batters Conservative Palliser, SK
There's been some discussion here of going, instead of to Toronto, to Mississauga and to Scarborough. That was my understanding.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Dave Batters Conservative Palliser, SK
The members opposite are passionate about where we go. I think you'd better settle on where you want to go and give the clerk that direction, so we have that direction.
From our perspective, Mr. Komarnicki's and mine, we definitely want Saskatchewan to be covered; and Winnipeg, we've decided, should be covered. You can debate where to go in Saskatchewan. Probably the further south—
Ed's riding is Estevan. Madame Faille seems supportive of Moose Jaw, where we have a tonne of foreign workers. We have a huge beef plant there, a packing plant there, and there are also a number of trucking outfits. Moose Jaw is only 45 minutes outside of Regina. It has a lovely mineral spa and.... Pardon me?
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Dave Batters Conservative Palliser, SK
And there's a great hockey team in Moose Jaw.
Madame Faille, I'm liking you more and more by the minute.
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, would be very welcoming. And talk about getting some press coverage. I tend to agree with Mr. Telegdi: if you go to Toronto, it may be like a tree falling in the forest; if you go to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, it's a big event.
Anyway, I think we do have to go to Saskatchewan and we have to go to Manitoba. I'll defer to your judgment as to whether you want to have one meeting in Toronto or in Scarborough and Mississauga. It's not for me to decide. That's not my area.
11:35 a.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Chair, I think we can all self-serve here by saying that we want to go here and there. I would make the proposition that we don't go to a particular member's riding or to a particular city. Toronto is neutral. It represents everybody. If we go to Scarborough, then it seems that I get preferential treatment. If we go to Mississauga, it might be that Mr. Omar Alghabra gets some preferential treatment. So I would say Toronto, certainly. If you want to make it a day and a half because of all the things we have, that's fine. But I would suggest that we take Mr. Siksay's motion and add in there—or I'll make a friendly amendment—that we certainly add the two provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and we let the clerk put in the locations and the cities where we go.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Okay.
We'll go to Mr. Komarnicki and Mr. Siksay, and then let's do something on this.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Ed Komarnicki Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
I tend to agree with Jim in some measure, in the sense that if Mr. Siksay would be prepared to amend to say one city—
