Evidence of meeting #2 for Official Languages in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was subamendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yvan Baker
We must now deal with Mr. Godin's amended motion as a whole, and to make everything clear, I will ask the clerk to read the entire amended motion. Then we will decide whether we want to adopt it in its entirety.
Madam Clerk, you have the floor.
The Clerk
Thank you.
The motion reads as follows: That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(f), the Standing Committee on Official Languages hold a two-hour meeting as soon as possible to examine the recent request by Cogeco to reduce quotas for French-language songs as required by the conditions of their broadcasting licence. That as part of this meeting, the committee hear from: (a) broadcasting companies such as Cogeco, Bell, RNC, and Leclerc Communication; (b) a representative of ADISQ, the Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo; (c) online broadcasters with French-language content; and (d) broadcasters from ARC, the Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada. That the purpose of this meeting be to understand the current situation and to evaluate other potential solutions in order to achieve the objective of halting the decline of French.
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
Basically, I don’t think that the concept of “French-language broadcasters” closes the door to other organizations, but could even open it: there is ADISQ and ARC, but there could also be UPA. In fact, I am referring to UDA, the Union des artistes, and not the Union des producteurs agricoles.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Chair, I think my colleague’s comment is relevant.
For my part, I interpret this concept in the same way as he does. It does not limit us, and we can go beyond it. In fact, there is only one representative from the arts community, and the companies that make a living from French-language music. So I don’t think this concept limits us.
Madam Clerk, can we call witnesses other than those who have been identified, but who are related to the subject? Can we justify this?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yvan Baker
Colleagues, I am aware of the time we have available. I know we want to finish the meeting, but we will need a few minutes to resolve this issue. Our first option is to spend a few minutes on it now. Our second option is to resolve this issue at another meeting.
Liberal
Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Could we amend the motion by adding a point (e) specifying that other stakeholders could be added?
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
We are moving quickly, but I propose a subamendment specifying that there are no restrictions on the choice of guests. This would protect us. If, for example, we invite a representative from the Union des producteurs agricoles, people could judge the relevance of such a choice. The example is easy, but I think we are all responsible.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
I don’t know how to word this subamendment. Should we use the term “without restrictions”?
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
We could just add the words “and other representatives,” which would mean the same thing.
The Clerk
Point (d) concerns broadcasters from the Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada. We could add “and other stakeholders in the field.”
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yvan Baker
We will now vote on this subamendment.
(Subamendment agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yvan Baker
We must now adopt Mr. Godin’s entire motion as amended. Does the Clerk need to read it back?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yvan Baker
Do you agree to adopt the motion?
(Motion agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yvan Baker
Are there any other matters we should discuss?
Mr. Godin, you have the floor.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
That’s what happens when you want to go fast.
Do we have any indication of the topic that will be discussed next Thursday?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yvan Baker
The subcommittee’s report will dictate our work. The first item in this report is our study on the education continuum.
Given the time and the fact that we want to conclude this meeting, I would ask the clerk to send you all a schedule so that you can see what she is planning. If there are any concerns, we can discuss them at future meetings.
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
A consultation is currently under way at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. I don’t know if it’s possible, but perhaps the analyst or the clerk could check to see if this consultation is ending soon. I think everyone agrees that the process should be fairly quick. We could then invite the people who are listed, and move on to other business. The analyst and the clerk will see what’s going on. We’ll give them some leeway.