Evidence of meeting #38 for Official Languages in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was point.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Denis Chartrand  President, Association des conseils scolaires des écoles publiques de l'Ontario
Sophie Bouffard  President, Université de Saint-Boniface
Clerk of the Committee  Ms. Michelle Legault

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

Then, Mr. Chair...

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

Marc Serré Liberal Nickel Belt, ON

Aren’t we voting, Mr. Chair?

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

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…

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

Exactly. It was not a point of order.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal René Arseneault

It was not a point of order.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

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

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

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.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

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

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal René Arseneault

Go ahead.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

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.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal René Arseneault

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

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

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…

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

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…

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

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.

November 15th, 2022 / 12:50 p.m.

Liberal

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…

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

In your normalcy…

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal René Arseneault

…for us to accept your amendment.

Mr. Beaulieu, I did not forget you.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

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

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

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.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

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.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal René Arseneault

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

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

That's exactly it, Mr. Chair.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal René Arseneault

In other words, they agree with you.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

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

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal René Arseneault

They also agreed to changing the date.