Industry Committee on Nov. 15th, 2007

[André Arthur, Independent, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

I would simply like to thank my colleagues for their generous perspective. Of course, after two years here, I am able to recognize that the Parliament of Canada is essentially a Parliament of parties, and that the arrival of an independent MP, even if he is elected, can cause many people to see this individual as a rare beast, more or less desirable, with which they want to deal for as brief a period as possible. However, I have to admit that I was mortified, during the last session, to see you trying to respect the right that other members might have to share their time with me during the study of issues that I might have some interest in, areas in which I might have some expertise or on which I might have something to say.

I even remember that the way in which the speaking order was organized last year allowed one of our guests to calculate exactly when he would appear here, so as to be appearing during the round of questions where I would not have a right to speak. I remember his very joyful face when a Conservative colleague gave me his time, which allowed me to interview the vice-chair of the CRTC to my taste, an organization that is part of my area of expertise, the same expertise that a fire hydrant might have in relationship to the neighbourhood dog.

I would therefore like to thank my colleagues for their generosity. I recognize that by coming to sit here, I am taking the place of a Conservative member and that I do not have a truly independent status, but I have seen enough of my colleagues' work to know that in Parliament, we do what we can and not as we wish. I thank you for your generosity.

I gratefully support Mr. McTeague's motion.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you.

Do I have the consensus of the committee to not adopt the two motions of Mr. Carrie but to adopt allocation of time for questioning with Mr. McTeague's amendment?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

(Motion as amended agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

I think we have two left. We have “Minority Reports”.

Mr. Carrie, do you want to make the argument?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Basically, this is a clarification, standard House proceedings, that we recognize this.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay. Is there any approval or objection to this motion?

Mr. McTeague.

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Pickering—Scarborough East, ON]

Chair, we will not be supporting this.

I would ask for clarification from Mr. Carrie. I've never heard the word “annex”. I'm wondering if he means “appendix”? The appendix is, I think, already covered in 108(1)(a) of the Standing Orders. The Standing Orders would effectively allow for this. I think this is probably--I don't want to say mischievous--not necessary given what we have. The way we've worked this in the past seems to have been acceptable. We will not support this.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Madame Brunelle.

[Paule Brunelle, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

We will also oppose it, obviously. This remains the same effort to preserve the freedom and flexibility the committee must have. It has to be able to decide if there will be a minority report and to decide what form it will take. That would tie us up in rules that seem absolutely useless to me. I see no problem with how things were and I do not understand why we want to consider these changes.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay. Does anyone else have anything?

Mr. Stanton.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Chair, it just seems to me that, again, in an effort to try to have some continuity on this question.... I know that when this issue comes up about dissenting opinions, customarily the committee seeks agreement among the committee members as to what time and when such dissenting opinions would have to be submitted. That tends to vary from one committee to another. Here we are attempting to have some clarity on the issue, but also some continuity so that committee members can't overtly obstruct the proceedings of the committee to try to play games with issues around dissenting opinions. I know that members customarily will also provide whatever accommodations are necessary, but we all know that when circumstances arise in which politics begin to trump the important work of the committee, these issues come into play. This would be a way to make sure that the 72-hour period became the norm, and that parties that wished to, and continued to have the right to, as has been said under the Standing Orders, would have their absolute right to do that.

The suggestion here is an attempt to provide some clarity around the question of the time, and I believe it's a wise move.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you.

I don't have any other speakers.

(Motion negatived)

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Members, that deals with all of the routine motions presented by Mr. Carrie. There is one, though, from the last session that we did not deal with: “Designate a Chair”. It's on the first page. I don't think it's very controversial. Can I get someone to move this motion? It's in the routine motions as adopted by the committee in a previous session. It's to designate a chair, and it's on the first page.

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Pickering—Scarborough East, ON]

I'll move that, sir.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

It's so moved.

(Motion agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Members, it took a little longer than we thought it would. We have five minutes left, so I'm suggesting as the chair that we actually make Tuesday a future business meeting. I'm suggesting that members think very seriously about the types of topics they'd like to discuss. I'd prefer if they'd bring in two or three or five ideas and see if there are any ideas we can agree on.

We have eight more sessions. One session will be for future business, so we have seven sessions. If members can think of something that can be accomplished within seven sessions, or even two items that can be accomplished, please bring them forward at the next meeting.

Again, if you have any questions in the meantime, please contact the clerk or me or the researchers, and feel free to talk aside from the committee.

Are there any other items?

Thank you all for your cooperation today.

The meeting is adjourned.