Official Languages Committee on Dec. 11th, 2007

[Luc Harvey, Conservative, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Okay. Could you re-word it?

[Luc Harvey, Conservative, Louis-Hébert, QC]

I move that the Committee on Official Languages does not wish to receive a response from the government.

Earlier, we wanted a response. The opposition voted against it, so we are asking that a response not be given.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Harvey, that is implied in the decision that we have just made.

[Luc Harvey, Conservative, Louis-Hébert, QC]

I don't understand.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

The committee voted against a request for a response. It defeated the motion that requested the response. We can therefore conclude that it was the will of the committee.

[Luc Harvey, Conservative, Louis-Hébert, QC]

But I want the report to clearly indicate that we are not requesting a response.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Harvey, if we want a response, the request must be included in the report. The request will not be included. So that means that the committee is not asking for a response.

[Luc Harvey, Conservative, Louis-Hébert, QC]

I would like it to be clearly stated that the committee does not wish to receive a response from the government.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Your motion is unusual but nevertheless in order because we are still debating. It will therefore be possible to make that change.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

The report has already been concurred in.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Just a minute, please.

Mr. Harvey is moving that we state in the report that the committee does not wish to receive a response from the government.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Point of order, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

I will hear from Messrs. Bélanger, Godin and Rodriguez.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

First of all, what Mr. Harvey said is wrong. The committee did not ask the government not to respond: it did not ask for a response. If Mr. Harvey wants to play that type of game, then we could certainly move an amendment to his motion to say that if the government wishes to respond, it is welcome to do so.

I have had just about enough of these procedural shenanigans. A report has been adopted, and we did not request a response. We did not ask the government not to respond. We have to be very careful; they are not one and the same.

Moreover, I don't think that the motion is in order.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

I am looking into that, since I am going to have to rule on it. I will allow the other members on my list to speak.

I would simply like to remind Mr. Harvey that the report has been concurred in.

[Luc Harvey, Conservative, Louis-Hébert, QC]

When we voted, earlier, to have a report, it had already been adopted?

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

I would simply like to remind all committee members that the report has been concurred in and that the committee has decided that it would not ask the government to respond.

We will hear the speakers in the following order, beginning with Mr. Godin, then Mr. Rodriguez, and Mr. Petit.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Chairman, I say that the motion is out of order because we have already adopted the report. We can't introduce a motion stating that the committee does not wish to receive a response from the minister after the fact. The report has already been concurred in. That's the end of it.

Then, we have to decide if we want a response...

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

We will continue to hear from honourable members, after which we will suspend the sitting for a few minutes, if necessary.

Mr. Rodriguez had expressed the need to...

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

I have not finished yet, Mr. Chairman. I was speaking while you were having your little side meeting.

I think it is quite simple. Members should be familiar with procedure. According to the standing orders, if we don't ask the government to respond to the report, that will in no way affect the business of the House, which can then vote on whether or not the report will be concurred in.

We won't let the Conservative government put one over on us this morning. We must simply state that we do not wish to have a response. As Mr. Bélanger clearly said, the government is free to respond to the report if it wishes to do so. But there will be no interference with the standing orders so that Parliament can vote on the report on the Court Challenges Program. A motion has already been introduced. It is clear, it states that we are not asking for a response from the government. We have voted on it. Therefore, the matter is closed.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Godin, this amounts to saying that we would be somehow voting on a proposal that is contrary to the motion which the committee just...

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Petit said that they want to speak. The Chair will make a decision afterward.

Is this a point of order?

[Luc Harvey, Conservative, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Someone has a BlackBerry, and the microphone is constantly picking up the noise.