Evidence of meeting #58 for Justice and Human Rights in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was judge.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Bloc
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC
No, I have a point of order to raise now. You have given all the members the floor.
Bloc
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC
Mr. Chairman, for a number of meetings now I have had the impression that when my colleague, Mr. Comartin, or myself have the floor, you are quick to interrupt us and you are not distributing the time fairly. I do not want to get into a long debate about this. And I really do not want to criticize Mr. Murphy, who asked some very relevant questions.
I know this is up to the chair's discretion, and we're not in the army here. However, if you want to continue working in an atmosphere of harmony and mutual respect, I must not continue to feel, when I have the floor, that you are about to cut me off or will allow me to be interrupted so that I do not have a fair length of time.
While I would like to say that I have nothing but trust and respect for you, there have been three occasions on which I felt that you were quick to interrupt me. I hope that will not happen again, because unfortunately this is not the climate in which I want to work.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Art Hanger
Thank you.
As a quick response to that point of order on the time allotted today, I try to wait for an appropriate break to cut a member off so we don't run way overtime. Mr. Murphy asked his question this afternoon and sought a reply from everybody at the table. I don't like to get into that practice, because I know how it can eat up the time very quickly and the witnesses are here for us to hear.
Mr. Murphy's time was 10 minutes and 47 seconds. Yours was 8 minutes and 2 seconds. Mr. Comartin's was 7 minutes and 33 seconds, and our time was 5 minutes and 11 seconds.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Art Hanger
You got no time.
Mr. Petit's time was 5 minutes, 11 seconds.
I know it doesn't always balance out. I try to maintain the time as much as I can. I often give Mr. Comartin extra time because his party has only one chance, but that doesn't always happen either. I'm trying to be as judicious as I can in dealing with the time issue.
Ms. Jennings had 5 minutes and 50 seconds, Ms. Freeman had 7 minutes, and Mr. Brown had 5 minutes and 8 seconds. Mr. Lee, along with Mr. Bagnell, had 6 minutes, and so on and so forth.
I'm trying to be as fair as I possibly can with the time issue.
I'll now go to the budget now, if I may. Ms. Jennings.
Liberal
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Thank you.
I think that Monsieur Ménard has a very clear point on this. The other thing I would suggest is that you make it very clear that any time there's a point of order, whether I've made the point of order or a member of one of the other parties, the clock stops. The clock stops. I've never been on a committee where the clock does not stop. That's the first thing.
Conservative
Liberal
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
I would suggest that rather than trying to do favours for anyone, when the time is up, the time is up. You simply inform the witnesses that they can submit their responses in writing.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Art Hanger
You have convinced me. When your seven minutes is up, your seven minutes is up. I don't care if you have used all your time up.
Liberal
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Art Hanger
No, when your time is up, then, folks, that's exactly what it'll be. Your time will be up.
Bloc
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC
On a point of order, Mr. Chairman.
That is not what we are saying. We are saying that we are relying on you to show some judgment, but that we have the unpleasant impression—
Bloc
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC
We are relying on you to exercise your judgment.
We want to trust you, but I have the unpleasant impression that during my turn or Mr. Comartin's turn, you are in a big rush to interrupt us. I would very much like to trust you.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Art Hanger
What is the committee's feeling here? Do you want me to bring every time sheet forward that we have conducted over this last little while, so you can personally look at it, to see whether you have been shortchanged? Is that what the members want?
Bloc
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC
Mr. Chairman, I would just like to trust you. I know you are an honest man, but I have the unpleasant impression that in the last three meetings you have been quick to cut me off. I am just asking that you ensure that I no longer have this impression, because I think I am doing a good job and that I am working seriously. We have to trust each other.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Art Hanger
Fair enough, then. We will leave it at that. I will endeavour to restrict the time to the seven minutes on the first round, five minutes on the second and subsequent rounds, and give everyone as much leeway as I possibly can.
Now to the budget, if I may. Do you have a copy of the budget before you? It's a visit to the RCMP headquarters. It reads: “That, in relation to the study of Bill C-22 (age protection), twelve members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights be authorized to travel to the RCMP Headquarter, Alta Vista Dr., Ottawa on Monday, April 16, 2007, and that the necessary staff do accompany the Committee.”
Liberal
Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
Colleagues, I don't know where this visit to the RCMP headquarters actually came from. I sit on the steering committee. I haven't heard about it.
