Evidence of meeting #60 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 amendment.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Carole Morency  Acting General Counsel, Department of Justice

10:30 a.m.

Liberal

Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON

I don't even want to suspend. I want to continue our discussion and get to the clause. If for some reason Mr. Ménard has not made up his mind on something by the time we get there, I'd be happy to allow him a couple of minutes to make a phone call.

10:30 a.m.

Bloc

Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC

I am within my rights to ask for an adjournment. You have the right to disagree, but I can ask for a vote on it. I don't have to hear your life story.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Art Hanger

Mr. Lee has agreed to give you a couple of minutes to make a phone call. We'll suspend for two minutes.

10:30 a.m.

Liberal

Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON

No, I want to continue the debate. This committee can walk and chew gum at the same time.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Art Hanger

Go ahead, Mr. Ménard. Before we take the vote you can make your call.

10:30 a.m.

Liberal

Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON

We won't take the vote until you're back.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Art Hanger

We won't take the vote.

10:30 a.m.

Bloc

Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC

Are we adjourning for five minutes?

10:30 a.m.

Liberal

Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON

I am going to speak...

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Art Hanger

No, there isn't a consensus to do that.

10:30 a.m.

Bloc

Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC

I have a perfect right to ask for an adjournment and to ask for a vote. We are not asking for one just because Mr. Lee disagrees. We have to check some things; we are not going to vote in the dark. We had not heard of this amendment, and we want to check some things. If we do not adjourn, we are going to vote against, because we have not been able to check, and we wanted to. Are we legislators or aren't we? Yes, we are, and we would like to check. We're not asking for the impossible. We need information.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Art Hanger

Are you moving to suspend the meeting?

10:35 a.m.

Bloc

Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC

We are asking for a five-minute adjournment.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Art Hanger

You are moving that.

10:35 a.m.

Bloc

Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC

I am asking because we need to check some things.

(Motion agreed to)

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Art Hanger

We will suspend for five minutes.

10:40 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Art Hanger

I'd like to call the meeting to order.

We have approximately 15 minutes left in this session and there is a vote in the House following this meeting, at a quarter after.

I would now like to get back to NDP-1.

10:45 a.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

Mr. Chair, I want to move that this amendment--just NDP-1--be put over to the Thursday meeting. We've had some discussion among the opposition parties of an alternative approach, but it's going to take us some time to draft that. It would probably be amendments to this and we would kick it over to then.

I would want to proceed with NDP-2. It has a very narrow scope to it and really just infills what's in subsection (2.2) now.

With NDP-1, we're just going to need some more time to see if we can't get a consensus there.

I can say to you, Mr. Chair, that on this side of the table there's a general consensus that we want to address this point with an amendment, but that my amendment probably doesn't do it. It maybe either goes too far or in some respects leaves some things out. So we're going to need that 48 hours to get it straightened out.

10:45 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Art Hanger

The committee would have to be in agreement.

10:45 a.m.

Liberal

Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON

What's the business for Thursday?

10:45 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Art Hanger

The agenda for Thursday--drafting instructions for the judicial advisory committee report.

Mr. Ménard.

10:45 a.m.

Bloc

Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC

Everyone wants to pass the bill quite quickly. But we accept that Mr. Comartin is expressing an interesting opinion. The committee studying Bill C-35 has a meeting scheduled tomorrow, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Does the mover have enough time?

10:45 a.m.

Bloc

Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC

That's today.

10:45 a.m.

Bloc

Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC

Tomorrow afternoon, Mr. Lamer? Right. I was going to propose...But we won't have time. But won't we have the time to draft an amendment so that we can get back together, say, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. to finish studying the bill today, and from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to study Bill C-35? I want us to pass it as quickly as possible. We can also try to do both on Thursday.

10:45 a.m.

Bloc

Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC

There won't be enough time to draft it.