Official Languages Committee on Dec. 1st, 2022

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

That's good. The final version is coming.

Mr. Boulerice, welcome. I see you are being good.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

I am always good, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I don't doubt it.

Is there unanimous consent?

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

I would first like to see the new version.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

That's right. I'm sorry. The clerk is making the final changes to the motion. We will then circulate it and come back to it.

I am suspending the meeting briefly.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Resuming the meeting.

Before circulating the additions that have been made, so the Chair can get everyone's blessing, Ms. Lattanzio, you have the floor.

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

I am going to come back to the third item, again. I want to clarify things for people who are not members of the committee so they know exactly what to expect.

I am therefore proposing to add the following words at the end of the existing text of the third item: "and that a copy of this motion also be distributed to them, and that once the deadline for submitting amendments has been set, they be sent the reminder of the deadline by the clerk."

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

That will put in writing what we were just saying to the clerk. So there would be two notices. The first would be when the motion itself was sent. Then, after the last minister appears, a reminder would be send to the independent MPs.

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

The independent MPs don't necessarily follow our work and would not know about it, otherwise.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Agreed.

Mr. Godin, do you want to speak?

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

Mr. Chair, I understand the meaning of what my colleague is saying.

I will now ask the clerk. Are we required to communicate that information at this point? The relevance is the text you are suggesting. It may not be necessary to communicate with the independent MPs now, unless procedure requires that we do it.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Madam Clerk, what do you think?

[The Clerk]

It is not an obligation according to procedure if the date has not been set. However, out of courtesy, it would probably be better, because the committee has made a decision concerning the date, even if it is not a precise date.

Ultimately, it really is up to the committee to decide.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

The problem is that there is no precise date.

[The Clerk]

It's the meeting idea that is not usual here.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

The meeting idea is not usual, yes.

As the clerk says, since we don't have a precise date, we should send an initial notice of this motion, as a courtesy, to the independent members, who will know exactly what to expect. On the day of the last testimony by the last minister, those MPs will get a reminder.

That means that all our colleagues in Parliament will be able to propose amendments, even if they do not all follow the committee's work. I am thinking of the Green Party, for example. Those MPs have to have the same deadlines as us. That's how it has always been.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

I think questions about this were asked in the House the other day.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Are we agreed on all that, friends?

Mr. Godin, go ahead.

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

Mr. Chair, I understand my colleague's comment. We have to be transparent and work with all parliamentarians. I agree entirely with that.

Some MPs know today that they want to propose amendments. If they are sent the text of the motion today, they will know when to do it. It will be their responsibility. I would not go further than that and I do not think it is necessary to send them a reminder, which would amount to taking each parliamentarian by the hand and telling them not to forget. I don't want to fight about this, but I do wonder about it.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

I am only repeating what we told the clerk and I agree with her reasoning.

Ms. Lattanzio proposed that we put down on paper what the clerk told us earlier, before we suspended the meeting. Since we are not working with a precise date, and rather in terms of meetings, the situation is outside what is normal and is not following the usual procedure. Putting it down on paper is a more polite and respectful way of doing things, for our colleagues outside this committee, the other MPs in the House.

Nobody has a problem with that? Right. So I am asking for unanimous consent, as moved.

Mr. Samson, did you want to add something?

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Mr. Chair, I ask for a recorded vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Fair enough.

We will proceed with the recorded vote, Madam Clerk.

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

We can't hold a recorded vote because we have not received the complete motion, which includes the addition that Ms. Lattanzio made.

[The Clerk]

Yes, I sent the text of the motion.

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

Right. I apologize.