Official Languages Committee on Nov. 1st, 2022

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Then, Mr. Chair...

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Aren’t we voting, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

We cannot call for a vote.

You haven't raised a point of order; you’ve expressed your position regarding…

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Exactly. It was not a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

It was not a point of order.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Chair, we were on the first point of my amendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Wait a moment.

Mr. Godin, that being said, since this proposal is on the table, if there is unanimous consent, we can do it. That is what I wanted to say.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

I understand, Mr. Chair, but I want to finish my comment, because it is highly relevant.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Go ahead.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Actually, Mr. Chair, what I wanted to tell you is that in my amendment, I am talking about four important ministers, including the Minister of Canadian Heritage. From now to November 17 at 1 p.m., there are 2 sitting hours left.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

That’s November 24, if we pass your amendment.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Yes, November 24.

It’s unrealistic. What I mean, Mr. Chair, is that I feel we are trivializing ministers’ testimony. We’re batting it around, and acting as though it were not important. For us, it is very…

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Mr. Godin, I understand, but Mr. Serré’s intent was not to raise a point of order. It was to tell you that he agreed with changing the date from November 17 to November 24. It’s as though we…

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Yes, but I still want to use my time, Mr. Chair, to emphasize how important ministers’ testimony is to us. It’s very important to us, because it will help us be even better when drafting the bill. We should have heard from them before, but unfortunately, the fact is that they did not agree to come before.

Furthermore, what is very important in my amendment, Mr. Chair, is hearing from the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

This is what the summary of Bill C-13 says:

(h) provide for certain measures that the Minister of Canadian Heritage may take to advance the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society;

It concerns the minister. Why are my colleagues not including him in their motion? We'd be receptive if they were to do so, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Mr. Godin, that is what I am telling you: the opposite is what's happening right now. It seems that neither side of the table is listening. You have before you people who are telling you that they are ready to accept the first amendment. I don’t know if you understood the same thing I did, but that's what is on the table.

It therefore seems normal to me that the next step is for me to ask if there is unanimous consent…

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

In your normalcy…

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

…for us to accept your amendment.

Mr. Beaulieu, I did not forget you.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

It will be important, Mr. Chair, to properly word…

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

If you would let me finish, this is about asking if there is unanimous consent for us to accept your amendment as written; in other words, with the four ministers you mentioned. So, it's exactly what you’re saying.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

No. Mr. Chair, that is not the problem. I understand that he has conceded to adding the Minister of Canadian Heritage to the list.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

No. That is not what he said. He accepted your first amendment exactly as you drafted it.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

That's exactly it, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

In other words, they agree with you.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

I agree with you, but I was just telling you that my colleagues on the other side are agreeing to add the Minister of Canadian Heritage…

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

They also agreed to changing the date.