Evidence of meeting #28 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was declaration.
A video is available from Parliament.
The Clerk
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll make this intervention in English so that I can be as clear as possible.
This motion does not go outside the routine motions regarding distribution of documents in both official languages. It has the effect of allowing the brief to be submitted past the deadline previously adopted by the committee, so it will still be translated before being distributed.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
Thanks for that clarification.
Is there further comment?
Mr. Anandasangaree.
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON
I believe that clarifies the situation, Mr. Chair.
Liberal
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
The situation is not clear to me. I wonder whether the clerk could give me a yes or no answer to my question.
Is submitting the document in English only in accordance with the routine motions that we have passed, as Mr. Baptiste assumes?
Bloc
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
Thank you very much.
(Motion agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
I believe then, once again, seeing no objections, that the motion is accepted, and the document will be submitted in translation at the appropriate time after the deadline we submitted.
Thank you.
Next we have the question from Mr. Schmale.
Would you pose that again, Mr. Schmale, so that we can be clear?
Conservative
Jamie Schmale Conservative Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll try to be quick. I know people have places to be.
It is in regard to Minister Lametti's appearance today. Obviously he wasn't here. We would like to, on this side anyway, hear from the minister, as he is the sponsor of the bill. He is the one, as Mr. Vidal pointed out, to invoke closure on the bill within the House of Commons during debate.
To meet Mr. Battiste's concerns in regard to timelines, I could be wrong, but I don't think it will take two hours to go clause by clause through the bill. It's not overly long. I don't think there are a ton of concerns.
If possible, I'd like my motion to be that the chair and the clerk attempt to secure Minister Lametti's appearance at the next committee meeting, April 22 at 11 o'clock.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
It's an important clarification, because there is almost no possibility of setting another meeting for Wednesday. The next open slot is on Monday. So the question, as you outlined it to committee, is whether we are willing to spend a few minutes at the beginning of the Thursday meeting to hear from the minister?
I see a number of hands up: Mr. Anandasangaree, Ms. Gazan, Mr. Vidal and Ms. Gill.
Leah, go ahead, please.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to respect my colleague MP Schmale's proposal in principle and suggest that instead of a personal appearance, members of the committee are provided with an opportunity to submit questions to the minister, which he is to respond to, or his office is to respond to, before our next committee sitting.
Conservative
Gary Vidal Conservative Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK
Mr. Chair, I'm striving to be a bit facetious here. In my long and distinguished career as a member of Parliament and a member of this committee for the whole 18 months I've been here, I don't believe there's another example of having a witness appear and be able to give their submission without being questioned by the committee. I would be concerned about the precedent that sets.
The importance of this legislation and the importance of having the minister himself appear is crucial to moving this forward. I would obviously speak in support of Mr. Schmale's motion to ensure that Minister Lametti appears before we move to clause-by-clause.
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Often, I do not hear you when you call on me, just because the interpretation continues. I hear two voices at the same time.
I just wanted to say that I support my colleague Mr. Schmale's motion about the minister's appearance.
Of course, I do not want our business to be unduly extended, but I would like him to appear before the committee.
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I definitely appreciate everyone's comments here.
I think Ms. Gazan's suggestion is quite reasonable. Right now I think Minister Bennett has already read the statement that Minister Lametti was supposed to present today. I propose the opportunity for questions, and given the makeup of this committee, we'd have five questions for the Conservatives, five for the Liberals, four for the Bloc and four for the NDP, with a response deadline of five o'clock tomorrow. The information could then be presented and accepted as formal submissions to this committee.
It's fair to say that Minister Lametti regrets not being here. He's been very engaged on this file. We've had a number of discussions over the past several weeks, and I know he regrets not being here. I think it's important and imperative that the information provided by our witnesses today, which has been exhaustive.... If further clarifications are needed, the suggestion that Ms. Gazan made, with minor modifications, would and should suffice to ensure that the minister's comments are on the record.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
By the way, I'll excuse our witnesses. Thank you very much. I wondered if perhaps there would be some reference to the staff, but if you folks are fine, then we'll allow you to depart the meeting.
What we have before us is a motion, and the discussion about the motion was a new suggestion. The first thing we have to deal with, if it's our intention to go along with Ms. Gazan's proposal, is the motion.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bob Bratina
All right. We'll have a recorded vote on Mr. Schmale's motion.
(Motion negatived: nays 6; yeas 5 [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Members of the committee, I am expecting, then, that those who wish to hear from the justice minister will provide him with their questions.
Mr. Clerk, when would we require the answers to be given?
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Chair, I can see that people are leaving. But I would like to ask a question about the vote.
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
I did not want to interrupt you. I just wanted to clarify one thing. We were told that four people voted for the motion. In fact, the votes were Mr. Melillo, Mr. Viersen, Mr. Schmale, Mr. Vidal and myself. That makes five people. I wanted to make sure that the five votes had been counted.