Evidence of meeting #58 for Justice and Human Rights in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was clause.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Mala Khanna  Acting Deputy Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice
Jacqueline Yost  Legislative Counsel, Legislative Services Branch, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice
Mélanie Beaudoin  Legislative Counsel, Legislative Services Branch, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice
Jean-Charles Bélanger  Deputy Chief Legislative Counsel, Legislative Services Branch, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice
Jane Weldon  Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport

3:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

Our clerk is down trying to get the witnesses through security, but I thought we might at least, before they come in, agree on a schedule for the next couple of meetings.

As everybody has seen, Ms. Roussel's nomination for the Director of Public Prosecutions came through. We received the documents, together with her curriculum vitae, today. She is available to testify next Tuesday, and I am wondering if committee members would be willing to have her here next Tuesday.

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

Rob Nicholson Conservative Niagara Falls, ON

Is it necessary?

3:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

It's apparently part of the requirement that she meet the committee.

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

Rob Nicholson Conservative Niagara Falls, ON

Well, I know she'll do very well.

3:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

Is everybody okay with next Tuesday?

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

Rob Nicholson Conservative Niagara Falls, ON

Sure. It sounds good.

3:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

Wonderful.

May 30th, 2017 / 3:40 p.m.

Liberal

Colin Fraser Liberal West Nova, NS

That's June 6.

3:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

Yes.

The other question is that we've received the analysts' notes to start our legal aid recommendations. Currently we have the MSLA, which we need to finish today. If we don't finish this, it would go on to Thursday. If we do finish it today, which I'm not sure we can because of the votes, would we be ready on Thursday to do the recommendations on legal aid, or would you like to carry that over until next week to have more time to study the analysts' report?

Would we be okay to do that next Thursday? Of course, if Bill C-46 comes, we may revisit that as a group. Is everybody good with that?

Today, while we are waiting for the witnesses, what I will recommend with the MSLA is that we go one after another, and if anybody has questions or comments on any clause, we'll discuss it with the witnesses, and then if there is any objection, it will be withdrawn, as we need unanimous consent to proceed with each of the provisions.

At this point, until the witnesses get here, I'm pretty stymied as to proceeding, so let's just briefly recess while we wait for the witnesses.

3:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

I would like to welcome our witnesses from the Department of Justice. They have come to help us answer any questions we have on the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017.

We are joined by Mala Khanna, acting deputy assistant deputy minister, public law and legislative services sector; Jean-Charles Bélanger, deputy chief legislative counsel, legislative services branch, public law and legislative services sector; Jacqueline Yost, legislative counsel, legislative services branch, public law and legislative services sector; and Mélanie Beaudoin, legislative counsel, legislative services branch, public law and legislative services sector.

Welcome.

We were discussing how this meeting will proceed. We are ready to begin our study.

We're going to be starting with clause 1. We will come to you as any member of the committee has questions going through the list. If there are no questions and everybody is in accord, we will just approve unanimously that number. Is everybody good with that?

I notice somebody has comments. We have a vote. Are the comments necessary?

3:40 p.m.

Mala Khanna Acting Deputy Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice

Mr. Chair, are you referring to the opening remarks?

3:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

Yes, I mean the opening remarks.

3:40 p.m.

Acting Deputy Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice

Mala Khanna

We had prepared opening remarks, but we're happy to proceed as you have laid out.

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

I think we should proceed, given the fact that the bells are going to start ringing at four o'clock.

3:45 p.m.

Acting Deputy Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice

Mala Khanna

We're happy to do so, and I would like to express our sincere apologies for being late. There are many people downstairs.

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

We understand. Security is very difficult these days.

Ladies and gentlemen, we're going start with clause 1, and we will proceed.

Clause 1 is on the short title, proposals for a Mr. Speaker, a Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017. Is clause 1 okay with everyone?

3:45 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

Good. I'll assume it's without objection if I don't hear an objection.

Is clause 2, amendments to the Aeronautics Act, okay with everyone?

3:45 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

Is clause 3, also on an amendment to the Aeronautics Act, okay with everyone?

3:45 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

Is clause 4 okay with everyone?

3:45 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

3:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Anthony Housefather

On clause 5, if nobody else on the committee has questions, I have questions on clause 5. Is everybody else okay?

My question relates to the changes to subsection 25(2) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. We've now changed the English to say, “All payments made by a trustee under subsection (1.3)”, and in the French we're saying, “ faits par un syndic”.

Instead of saying “All”, which would be “Tous les”, we're saying “Ces”, and we've made reference to it being under subsection (1.3) in the English, so it should be “par un syndic au paragraphe 25(1.3)“.

That's not there in the French. Can somebody explain why?

3:45 p.m.

Jacqueline Yost Legislative Counsel, Legislative Services Branch, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice

Thank you for your question.

What it boils down to is that English drafting conventions and French drafting conventions are slightly different. As an anglophone drafter, I will admit that we do tend to have more cross-references than our francophone colleagues do. In this case, we also changed the French version. Originally, it said “tous paiements ”. Out of an abundance of caution, when subsection 25(1) was split out and the other subsections were added, the payments moved to subsection 25(1.3). In French, changing “tous” to “ces” is a cross-reference in itself. It's a linking word that sends you back to the payments in the immediately preceding subsection. Therefore, we do have equivalence between the two.