Evidence of meeting #84 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Tilson
We're not here to have a philosophy lecture. We're here to debate the amendment.
Do you have a new point, Ms. James?
Conservative
Roxanne James Conservative Scarborough Centre, ON
I just want to talk to this point for just one second.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Tilson
No, we're not going to talk about that.
Madam Groguhé, go ahead.
NDP
Sadia Groguhé NDP Saint-Lambert, QC
Mr. Chair, it is clear that Mr. Lamoureux raised a question that has disrupted things completely. This issue was raised following your suggestion that we mention a date in the government motion. So this was directly related to what you said, even if it referred to the amendment.
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
Thank you, Chair.
I think I have established the first part of my argument on why I'm opposed to this amendment. I also find that the stated purpose of moving this is, in fact, to put a caveat, or an asterisk if you will, beside the motion to say, “You may get it through the House, but if we get this timeframe carried and the House rises on Thursday, you can't introduce the bill anyway”.
I think the amendment is contrary to the motion and should have been ruled out of order, but it wasn't last week. We had a different chair and she didn't approach the issue of whether this is contrary or not.
Chair, with the facts on the table, it's very clear from the government's perspective that having this amendment attached will not only submit the motion to a frivolous timeframe—which as I've indicated makes absolutely no sense—it will also starve the will of the committee. Because if this committee is given the chance to vote on the time extension of Mr. Shory's bill, it's clear that we need the time to be able to have it come back to this committee for further study, and obviously, bring some witnesses back to the table and then get to the clause-by-clause.
Chair, I'm going to indicate to you that the government, and myself, when we get a chance.... I'd love to call the question now, to be able to have a vote on this amendment so that we can move on to the better part of the motion, on which no member on this side of the committee has had a chance to speak—
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Tilson
Give me a moment, Mr. Dykstra. I'd like to confer with the clerk. I'm going to suspend for just a minute.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Tilson
Okay, we're back.
Mr. Dykstra, you can't do that in committee, so your request to put the question is out of order.
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
Okay, perhaps we could seek unanimous consent to vote on the amendment put forward by the opposition. I know they want this amendment to be in. The quicker we vote on it, I'm sure the happier they will be. I'm sure they don't want to be seen filibustering their own amendment.
Conservative
Conservative
Conservative
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
I think I've made my argument, Chair. This amendment makes absolutely no sense. It should have been ruled out of order because it's actually contrary to the motion to begin with. It's frivolous, and it's really a vexatious argument, in terms of saying that—
Conservative
Conservative
Chungsen Leung Conservative Willowdale, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is probably the first opportunity I've had to speak on this amendment.
What I'd like to say is that prior to entering....
Is there a conversation going on?
Conservative
Chungsen Leung Conservative Willowdale, ON
Prior to entering politics I spent 40 years in private business. I'm just looking at how the procedural things are conducted around here. In private business we deal with things expeditiously. We deal with things with concern for the time-money element. Seeing that we have already spent a copious amount of time in discussing this bill, in discussing its 30-day extension—or whether it's not a 30-day extension—and there's a—
