Evidence of meeting #99 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 chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
10:05 a.m.
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
That's correct. It was included in Mr. Généreux's amendment and mine.
Given the seriousness of the situation, we are requesting a whole series of actions that go beyond a mere apology. I think this should have been done a long time ago since the consequences have been quite significant.
The situation should be handled in a more serious manner.
10:05 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Mr. Beaulieu, I'm in no position to determine whether you or other committee members think it's that serious or not. All I can do is observe that people want to debate this motion, and we now have a proposed amendment to that motion.
We are all parliamentarians. We've seen this elsewhere, and we've seen it during other studies that we have conducted. As you will no doubt remember, Mr. Beaulieu, I have allowed you to speak to those matters. The only thing a chair can do is let people speak provided they stay within the framework of the discussion.
As I have previously told you in other circumstances, I am definitely more permissive than restrictive. When the chair is restrictive, the chair's decisions are always subject to appeal, which is why I am permissive. I request collegiality from the members. I think we've long had a very good committee. I ask members to respect each other and to abide by parliamentary rules as they stand. Canada is a democracy, and everything works well as long as those rules are followed. You may dislike or even be irritated by the way I chair or direct the committee, but I have to admit I'm inclined to hear what Mr. Samson has to tell us.
Mr. Samson, since you wanted to finish what you were saying, I'm going to let you do it.
10:05 a.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
I don't know why he's wasting time because I would have finished.
I won't take back that time. The only thing I want to say is that my colleague Mr. Beaulieu said something that made me think. He was talking about his notice of motion, and he said that Mr. Généreux and he had planned to table an amendment. This is where you see how the Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives are engaging in partisanship. It's unacceptable.
Mr. Chair, thank you for the leeway you've allowed me. In closing, I hope the committee can learn a lesson from this situation on how to conduct its business more effectively in future.
10:05 a.m.
Liberal
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Chair, we're going to address this at the next meeting because we're dealing with filibustering by the—
10:05 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Just a moment, Mr. Godin. I have the floor.
As I've told you many times, the interpreters' injuries are caused by the committees' physical facilities. I ask you please not to unmute your microphone while another one is being used. When we talk over each other… These injuries have been caused in committee rooms for some 20 years. It's documented. First we thought they were a result of the pandemic and the use of the Zoom and Teams applications, but the problem stems from the committees' physical facilities. So I ask you please to abide by the rules. Our role as MPs is to abide by the rules. We are fortunate to be able to do so within a beautiful democracy such as ours. So let's do it even if it's irritating at times. Let's speak one at a time.
Before I turn the floor over to Mr. Serré, and then Mr. Drouin, we have to reach a decision with the help of our clerk. Are we going to adjourn or suspend? I would remind you that, when we suspended a meeting, that had technical consequences that complicated matters. When a meeting is suspended, the notices of meeting, which are sent out to journalists and the public, can't be prepared and everything is pushed back.
There is a solution. We can adjourn the meeting. If you tell me that's what you want, I will do it. It would prevent technical problems. We could do it by ensuring, with the committee's unanimous consent, that we resume this debate at some future date. It could be at the next scheduled meeting or on another date. I would remind you that we plan to welcome the Commissioner of Official Languages on May 27.
If that's the unanimous wish of the committee, I can terminate the meeting and resume what we were doing at exactly the same point on a future date. It could be the next scheduled meeting or a date following the meeting with the Commissioner.
Otherwise, I will suspend the meeting, which will disrupt the entire schedule.
Correct me if you wish, Madam Clerk. I think the most practical solution would be to consent unanimously to adjourning the committee. I suggest that we resume this discussion, at this exact point, at the meeting following the meeting with the Commissioner of Official Languages. That decision would be untouchable because it would be unanimous.
If not, we will suspend the meeting. There will be no subsequent notice of meeting. It will be as though at the meeting hadn't stopped.
I'm requesting a little wisdom from the committee. I've told you the chair's preference, but that doesn't carry much weight. My preference is to adjourn the meeting with the unanimous consent of the committee. Then we can set a date on which to continue the debate. It would be as though we had suspended the meeting. That decision couldn't be undone without unanimous consent.
Are there any questions?
Go ahead, Mr. Beaulieu.
10:10 a.m.
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
Are we voting on this? I'm in favour of adjourning the meeting.
10:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
As I told you, if we adjourn the meeting, we disrupt the entire calendar.
Go head, Mr. Godin.
10:10 a.m.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
As I understand it, Mr. Chair, if we suspend the meeting, we will resume on the same subject at the next meeting. If we adjourn, we will receive the Commissioner at the next meeting and resume on the present topic later on.
10:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
It can be done on whatever date we wish. We had planned to consider the report at the next meeting, on Thursday, May 23. The Commissioner will be coming the following Monday.
We may decide to resume on the present matter on Thursday, May 23, or on any other day.
10:10 a.m.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Chair, we prefer the option of suspending the meeting. We have to bring this debate to a conclusion. We need to conclude on the matter so we can move on to something else. The Liberals want to drag this out. That's their choice. We could have resolved it immediately, but they preferred to stretch—
10:10 a.m.
Conservative
10:10 a.m.
Conservative
10:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
You are entitled to request that.
I simply wanted to lay out the technical issues that suspension of the meeting might cause and the effect it could have on our agenda.
Witnesses, you are released.
Go ahead, Mr. Beaulieu.
10:10 a.m.
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
The Commissioner of Official Languages is supposed to appear before the committee on May 27. The next meeting will normally be in camera.
I'm more in favour of suspending the meeting.
10:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
From what I understand, committee members prefer that we suspend the meeting.
I therefore suspend this meeting. That means that the next meeting will have the same number as this one, Wayne Gretzky's number. It will be as if we hadn't concluded the meeting.
I hope that everyone has heard and understood that.
10:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
So far, I have Mr. Serré and Mr. Drouin on my list.
The clerk is also taking note of that.
Ms. Ashton, do you have something to add?
10:15 a.m.
Conservative
10:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
So I have, in order, Mr. Serré, Mr. Drouin, Mr. Beaulieu, Ms. Ashton and Mr. Godin.
The clerk has taken note of all that.
That's great.
[The meeting was suspended at 10:14 a.m., Thursday, May 9.]
[The meeting resumed at 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 15.]
