Evidence of meeting #1 for Official Languages in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
In that case, I will vote against the motion, for the sake of the principle of regional diversity in the membership. Of course, this is nothing against Mr. Beaulieu. It is simply a geographical consideration.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
I would also like to point out that Ms. Ashton is under the banner of a national party that represents francophones across Canada.
Once again, it's nothing against you personally, Mr. Beaulieu.
Conservative
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
I will also vote against this motion, out of respect for Mr. Blaney who wants to propose my nomination and for Mr. Généreux who supports it, as well as out of recognition of the need for regional sensitivity within our committee.
(Motion agreed to: yeas, 6; nays, 5)
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Madam Clerk, I understand that this motion for the appointment of Mr. Beaulieu was carried, correct?
Nancy Vohl Clerk of the Committee
That's right. Six members voted in favour and five against. The motion that Mr. Beaulieu be elected second vice-chair is therefore carried.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
I first want to congratulate you, Mr. Chair.
That said, I have a correction. Mr. Généreux was actually the person who put my name forward. In this virtual world, we sometimes make mistakes. I want to express my sincere gratitude to him.
Congratulations, Mr. Beaulieu.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Okay, thank you.
Madam Clerk, does this mean that the chair and the vice-chairs of the committee have been duly elected?
Clerk of the Committee
Yes. The chair and the two vice-chairs have been duly elected. The committee is fully constituted.
The committee is now in your hands, Mr. Chair.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Thank you.
I also want to congratulate the vice-chairs. We'll work together and make sure that we hear from everyone in all the regions. As Mr. Blaney said, since this is a national committee, we must think of everyone. We must really meet the committee's objectives and fulfill its mandate.
On that note, as is customary, I think that we should now address the routine motions.
Ms. Ashton, the floor is yours.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to move a motion regarding our schedule—
Liberal
Marie-France Lalonde Liberal Orléans, ON
Mr. Chair, with all due respect, as you can see on the console, I've had my hand up since the beginning.
Sorry for interrupting you, Ms. Ashton. I hate to have to do that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
I'll ask the clerk, Ms. Vohl, to speak, because we must stick to the order for motions.
Madam Clerk, the floor is yours.
Clerk of the Committee
Mr. Chair, since this is the committee's first virtual meeting, I should point out that there are two ways to seek the floor. The first option is to click on the little blue hand in Zoom.
Can you see it, Mr. Chair?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Yes, it's in the list of participants. But will I see it on the screen?
Clerk of the Committee
If you have set up your screen to see all the participants, and not just the person speaking, you'll see a small blue hand in a square to the left of each participant.
Can you see it, Mr. Chair?
Liberal
Clerk of the Committee
Three people have their hands up.
I'll guide you through this, Mr. Chair. At the bottom of your screen, you should see two little men and the number 24.
Clerk of the Committee
If you click on it, the list of participants should appear on the right side of the screen. By the way, any committee member can do this. When people click on the blue raised hand, their name will appear on this list in the order in which they sought the floor.
By nature, people are used to simply raising their hands in committee meetings to seek the floor. This is the second option. Mr. Chair, I encourage you to watch carefully and to take note of who wants the floor.
I know that this is the first committee meeting that you're chairing with the help of your clerk, Ms. Ménard. I'll give her the floor afterwards. As soon as the meeting is over, a process can be established with you.
On that note, I'll turn things over to you. It's up to you, as chair, to give the floor to people.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Absolutely. Thank you.
The procedure dictates that now that we've finished electing the chair and vice-chairs, we should proceed with the routine motions regarding the operation of the committee, and then discuss other motions.
Madam Clerk, could you please confirm that this is the case?
