Citizenship and Immigration Committee on April 17th, 2018

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Chair, I am speaking to the motion. I was not moving a motion. I was simply raising an issue to say that I am speaking against this motion because I was going to put a notice of a motion for the committee's information.

The notice of motion that I would have liked to have put, had this motion not been tabled, and it has not yet been passed, therefore I can speak against it, is this—

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

On a point of order, Mr. Chair, I believe that point is out of order. There's debate right now on a particular question to continue the agenda.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I would agree with that. There are ways people try to circumvent that by saying they are speaking about a motion. If they are not speaking about the motion, I would say that they are out of order.

I have Mr. Maguire now.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Chair, my colleague is not speaking about a motion. She's talking about a notice of motion. There's quite a difference in regard to the affairs of the committee, and I can't believe that the government wouldn't allow discussions on the notice of motion. It's a notice of motion. There has been no motion put forward.

If she has three more notices of motion that she'd like to put forward, I'd like to hear what they are. We're not voting on them or anything today at that point. I can't understand what the hurry is to close our business so that we can be in camera on that. I think we owe it to my colleague to hear what her notices of motion are.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I am just clarifying that notices of motion in the middle of a debate on a motion are appropriate. Just give me one moment to clarify this. Then I have two speakers.

I am interpreting this standing order as saying very clearly that unless the notice of motion relates directly to the business at hand, the normal rules of the committee would be required in following the submission of a notice of motion. The clerk has provided me with that information.

I believe that it's inappropriate to comment on a notice of motion that's not been made in the debate where we instead of...as a backdoor way of changing the debate.... That would be my ruling: that, absolutely, people can comment on anything they want to in a debate as long as it's relevant to the matter at hand. We have the matter at hand that we proceed to committee business, which was given to all the members, and that we would continue to do the work of the committee, as the committee had already decided that we would do. I would rule that commenting on a notice of motion that has not been made is not part of the business. It would be my ruling.

I see that many people have their hands up.

Mr. Anandasangaree.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

I'd like to call the question, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

In committee, we really can't do that. I like the sentiment, however, as long as people have something new to say with respect to the debate, which is on the point that we continue to the business that was provided in the agenda.

I have Ms. Kwan and Mr. Maguire.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

All right. I would speak against this motion, Mr. Chair, because I think that this is an opportunity that committee members rarely ever get: to engage in a public session to raise issues that they would like to perhaps turn the committee members' attention to.

Given that I'm not allowed to give notices of motion, I'll tell you that one thing, and the reason why I'm opposed to this motion, is that I think the committee should be paying attention to the current situation with respect to the influx of irregular border crossings and asylum seekers seeking to enter into Canada through the southern border, Mr. Chair.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

On a point of order—

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Mr. Anandasangaree.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

—relevance, Mr. Chair. This is with respect to going onwards on our agenda. We have agendas prepared for us for every meeting. We have to follow that agenda in order to meet very specific timelines for some of the discussions that we're having.

I believe that Ms. Kwan is once again trying to filibuster, and frankly, I think this is something that can be discussed under their agenda item. Or if she wants to bring it forward at the next meeting, she's welcome to do so, but I think that at this point it would appear that she's filibustering. I believe that we do have very important business to do in order to set the study at hand in the right way for the next several weeks.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you.

Mr. Maguire.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

We asked earlier for information in regard to the study we're doing, and we don't know—or I don't know—at this point whether the notices of motion that Ms. Kwan is putting forward are relevant to more information on the study that we're doing or not.

To your comment earlier that we can't comment on a notice of motion until it's put forward, we don't know what the notice of motion is going to be, so it is really hard to comment on it, but I would also say, in the fairness of making—

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

On a point of order, Mr. Chair, relevance, because right now there is—

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

There is relevance here.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Well, there is a specific motion right now to continue the agenda. I believe that all the discussion that's now taking place is with respect to another matter altogether, and it's irrelevant to the conversation at hand.

Mr. Chair, I urge you to move forward on this, take a vote, and continue on the agenda.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I can't move to a vote as long as I have people discussing the motion, which is that we continue with the business of the committee that was meant to follow a timeline to help us get our work done. I believe the committee has agreed to this timeline.

Mr. Maguire.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

I'd just like to make a suggestion, Mr. Chair, with regard to getting on with the committee's business, so that we can hear all of the business that may come before us.

I would suggest that Mr. Anandasangaree withdraw his motion, and allow these issues to go forward.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

There is a motion on the floor, and we have to deal it.

Ms. Kwan.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Speaking to the motion, again, frankly, to be very clear, Mr. Chair, I have no intention whatsoever to filibuster this committee. In fact, if anything, the committee members from the government side are trying to impede the work that is very important for this committee to do.

From that perspective, just because someone offers a different opinion than that of the government members, and want to debate that, they deem that to be filibustering. Is that to say that we all have to walk like sheep, and agree with the government, and unless we don't, we're filibustering somehow? That is completely inappropriate.

To the debate around moving forward on committee business, this relates to committee business. The issue I want to bring forward relate to committee business. I want to bring it forward, but not in an in camera session. My intent is that this committee needs to study the issue of the safe third country agreement, particularly the issue of asylum seekers who are crossing over from the United States right now. We know that there's been a tremendous impact with respect to that and continues at this very moment. That, to me, is committee business that falls within this realm. Yet, we have a situation where we have a committee member who does not want to have that committee business discussed in a public setting.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Mr. Whalen.

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Conservatives filed notices of motion last week with respect to this. It's committee business. Whether the minister, or the deputy minister, comes is also committee business with respect to the estimates. This is all just trying to get on camera issues that other people have taken the time to do in advance. When we get to committee business, we can sort all this out. By trying to do it this way, it's incredibly inefficient and a waste of everyone's time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I was going to remind committee members that we do have notices of motion that have been duly received by the committee. They were received last week, and they do relate to these issues. They are still notices of motion, and we've not entertained them.

We have a motion on the floor, and that is that we proceed to committee business.

Ms. Kwan.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Related to the issue of committee business, there are different ways of providing notices of motion. There are ways in which you can provide written notices of motion that have been done by committee members, myself included.

There are ways in which notices of motion could be put forward at committee. I've done it before, and other committee members have done it before. This is where we actually advise you, Mr. Chair, that we're going to put a notice of motion on the public record.

We're now talking about adjourning the debate to move on to committee business. Committee business includes notices of motion. I am giving verbal notices of motion at this committee. Committee members and the chair are trying to impede me from doing so.

My point is about the importance of this work that relates to committee business. It is the study itself. We know that with the increase in the asylum claims—

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

On a point of order, Mr. Chair.

Asylum claims again. She's raising the issue, again, of some notice of motion that will be dealt with at the next order of business if we can just get through the motion on the floor.