Official Languages Committee on Sept. 22nd, 2011

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Let's just meet here, because everything's here and—

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

What was his question?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

He asked if we could use another room for the subcommittee meeting.

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

Mr. Chair, I am going to ask the clerk to research that. I would like to ask Mr. Galipeau what he means when he says that we are all bilingual. What does that have to do with anything?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I didn't hear that, so—

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

I did hear it, though.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I didn't hear it. I had the floor. I was talking—

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

I did hear it.

Are you saying that we should have a meeting without translation?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

No, no, he never said that.

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

I didn't say that he said that. I want him to qualify why he said that we're all bilingual.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

I will give the floor to Monsieur Galipeau to clarify what he said.

Monsieur Galipeau.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

We make up the Standing Committee on Official Languages and, in its wisdom, our committee has appointed to the subcommittee five people who all can speak both official languages. That's all I said.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Okay. Thank you.

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

Does that change anything?

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Nothing at all.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Okay. Thank you.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

The change is that the committee is much smarter than we thought.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Okay. I will call the meeting--

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Excuse me. I have the floor. Please let me say one thing before we adjourn. We've had only one suggestion to date, from Monsieur Godin, on a possible course of study, which was the tabling of documents in the House. I'd ask the four members of the subcommittee to come prepared with things to discuss about what we could do for the rest of the autumn--

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

Mr. Chair…

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Go ahead, Mr. Bélanger.

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

Mr. Chair, with all due respect, I think that you are slightly mistaken. I would like to ask our research analyst to distribute a list of our unfinished business. The list is quite exhaustive, after all.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

That has already been done.

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

Yes, exactly. So that is where I think the subcommittee should start its work, Mr. Chair.