Official Languages Committee on Oct. 29th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number three of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages. Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format in public. We will be discussing committee business.

Because of the delay related to the votes, I am advising you that, if there is consent, we can sit until 5:45 p.m. at the latest, because there are other activities planned in this room.

We will proceed this way.

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Mr. Chair, may I speak?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Yes, Mr. Williamson.

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Do you need unanimous consent?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Exactly; we need unanimous consent.

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

I can't give my consent because I'm attending other committee meetings tonight. I'm sorry.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

All right, colleague. Thank you.

So we'll be sitting until 5:30 p.m.

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

I would like to raise a quick point of order.

When it comes to raising our hand, do we physically do it in front of the screen or by using the “participant” button on the computer?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

You have to raise your hand by using the “participant” button. Thus, it will be done in order.

You will understand that there are also MPs in the room and I don't see them. It is therefore preferable to proceed this way.

I'm not going to read all of the information concerning the COVID pandemic. We did that the last session, and you already received an email concerning that.

Our clerk today is Ms. Christine Lafrance. She's here to help us.

This is our third meeting dealing with committee business.

Ideally, I would like to schedule our next sessions. Topics for study have been proposed. I will reserve, if you don't mind, the last 15 minutes of the meeting to prepare our strategy for the next meeting. I think that all committee members agree that after three sessions discussing the work of the committee, it would be good to start looking at these topics. If, however, at the end of this session, we have not yet dealt with the motions, the committee will decide whether it wants to complete the study in a subcommittee or come back to it later in committee.

I'll tell you why we're still discussing the work of the committee. You have received an email that explains it to you. At the last meeting, there was a desire to invite the Commissioner of Official Languages, for example. Immediately following that meeting last week, the clerk took steps to invite the commissioner to appear before us. Unfortunately, he is not available today and there was no other way to proceed. It was therefore decided to return to the committee's work to move things forward as much as possible.

Allow me to outline what we need to study now. Last week, we passed three motions: Ms. Lambropoulos' motion on education, Ms. Lattanzio's motion on the pandemic, and Mr. Blaney's motion on the commissioner's appearance no later than November 24. All three motions were adopted.

There are five notices of motion from the last meeting that we did not discuss. There's Mr. Blaney's motion to invite the minister about the budget; the second motion is that it be televised and the third is about the pandemic. There are also Mr. Beaulieu's motions on WE Charity and on French in Quebec, if I can put it that way. That's eight motions already. In addition, there are three other motions that have been tabled: one by Mr. Beaulieu on French, one by Ms. Ashton on the modernization of the Official Languages Act, and a third by Ms. Lalonde on official languages.

In addition, two other motions were filed, but late. As everyone knows, motions must be filed 48 hours in advance. These are Mr. Blaney's motions. The first one proposes to receive the commissioner on November 27, and the second one proposes to invite the minister to speak about the projects. The last thing is the main estimates, which must also be discussed.

In total, colleagues, there are 13 motions, three of which have been accepted.

When the last meeting ended, Mr. Beaulieu had the floor. I suggest that we discuss Mr. Blaney's motion concerning the commissioner, the one he had first tabled, proposing that the commissioner appear no later than November 24.

We have contacted the commissioner. He sent us an email today, saying that he would be available after the week of November 24, if we still meet on Thursday. We insisted and he let us know that he would be available to meet with us over the break week. I would like us to discuss this possibility first, because that motion was passed. Then we will be able to debate the other motions.

Is this formula suitable to you?

Mr. Blaney, you have the floor.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Chair, essentially, I find it pragmatic.

Indeed, we look forward to receiving the Commissioner of Official Languages and to knowing when he will be coming. The spirit of the motion is that we receive him as soon as possible. We have already met during a recess week, and since we would be meeting just once, I think that's fine.

We only have one hour to do our job, so I agree with you. That would give us a first activity to put on the agenda. I hope that we can do it in the last 15 minutes and that by then we will be able to draw up our roadmap.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you.

According to the email I received, the commissioner will be available on Friday, November 13, from 10:30 a.m. to noon or after 2 p.m. So it's up to us to decide.

Ms. Ashton, you have the floor.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

In fact, I forgot to put my hand down. I agree with what has been proposed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Fine.

Mr. Arsenault, you have the floor.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm going to try very hard to speak slowly, because apparently there is a problem with my device.

I may be out of order, Mr. Chair, but I raised my hand when you were referring to the subcommittee. You advised us last week that there was really no room for a subcommittee and that if we wanted to do a formal subcommittee, we would have to cut the time of the regular committee. I'd like an update on that.

Is there a way to meet outside, for instance, by common agreement among the parties represented on the committee, even if it is informal? This would allow us to save time, plan our motions and talk about them.

As you said, we don't have a lot of time to debate in committee, and we would save a lot of time if we could use a subcommittee, because that's what it's all about. I would just like you to tell me if, legally speaking, we could meet as a subcommittee informally to bring more fluidity to the debate on our motions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

I discussed things with the clerk. As indicated, in the context of a pandemic, if dates are announced for subcommittee meetings, they must be chosen from among those dates. These dates are Monday to Friday.

Since the new calendar has not yet been published, we do not have the necessary information and cannot immediately reserve a time slot for the subcommittee. If we can't get one, then we will have to debate in committee, which is why we have chosen this way of proceeding.

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

So there is no way that representatives from each party can agree to meet, for example, through a Zoom conference?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

As you know, party representatives are not the only ones who attend subcommittee meetings. There is also the staff who accompany them. In addition, you then have to come back to the committee for approval.

Having said that, I can assure you that the clerk is doing everything possible and that we are on the lookout. As soon as the calendar is published, we will reserve a time slot to hold a subcommittee meeting.

Thank you, Mr. Arseneault.

Mr. Beaulieu, you have the floor.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

I will continue in the same vein as Mr. Arseneault. If we had wanted to hold a subcommittee meeting, it would have been possible to do so at 3:30 p.m. and hold the committee meeting shortly after.

As far as staff members are concerned, everyone can attend meetings via Zoom, can't they?

Why would we be required to attend subcommittee meetings in person?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Could you repeat that?

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

I asked if the clerk, the analyst and all those usually present could participate through Zoom. If they could participate virtually, it would make things easier.

Do they have to be present in a room?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

No. In fact, the problem is not the room, but the availability of our staff.

Madam Clerk, could you say a few words about this?

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Christine Lafrance]

In fact, resources are currently limited. Committees were invited to use their time slot to hold subcommittee meetings if they wished.

Having said that, sometimes there is availability, but you should check the calendar. As a general rule, if a subcommittee wants to meet, it should take the committee time slot that has been established by the whips.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Excellent. Thank you very much.

I see that Mrs. Lalonde would like to speak.

You have the floor, Mrs. Lalonde.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Before addressing the points made by Mr. Beaulieu and my colleague Mr. Arseneault, I would like clarification regarding the possibility of inviting the commissioner, the hours of availability and the date of Friday, November 13. What slots are available?

Actually, I didn't quite get that, Madam Clerk. Could you tell me what's physically possible for us on November 13, about a possible meeting during the break week?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

As I mentioned, in the email we received today, the commissioner tells us that he will be available on November 13, from 10:30 a.m. to noon and after 2:00 p.m.

Madam Clerk, do you know whether the room and all necessary equipment would be available on that date if the committee chooses that day to meet with the commissioner?