Evidence of meeting #7 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 witnesses.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
What will happen if the government doesn't comply with that deadline and the ministers don't appear before the committee by then?
Also, if they make themselves available during the break week, do we have to plan a meeting?
The Clerk
An invitation to appear before the committee is not binding. An MP cannot be forced to appear before the committee. However, if they refuse, the committee could report it to the House.
If one of the ministers wishes to appear before the committee during the constituency week, I will let the chair know. If the committee agrees, we could meet on that day.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
If I understand correctly, the two ministers don't have to appear by the 21-day deadline. However, if they don't, we could report to the House that they did not comply with our request, that they simply avoided it.
Liberal
Madeleine Chenette Liberal Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
Our colleagues have reported several technical issues over the last few meetings, and things have run much less efficiently. I join my colleagues in saying that we need to see whether the problem is coming from the room or the equipment in the interpretation booth. Out of respect for the committee members and our witnesses, I would like the problem to be fixed before our next meeting.
The Clerk
I can confirm that the administration officials have been informed of today's issues. They will contact technical services and interpretation services.
Whether the room is the issue is a good question. My colleagues and I are actually looking into using another room to see whether it's better. However, since the issue has also been reported in other rooms, I'm not so sure that the room is the problem. It's hard to say.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
I just want to remind my colleagues that we used to hold the committee meetings in a different room, in the Wellington Building. We moved here because we were having this issue, so I doubt the room is the problem.
Bloc
Mario Beaulieu Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
I'd like to point out that the problems seem real. During the witness remarks, either there was no sound or the volume would go down. It was difficult to hear.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yvan Baker
I think we understand the issue. We all agree the technical problems need to be fixed. The clerk and I will work on it and do our best to get the issue fixed. In fact, the clerk has already brought up the issue.
I agree with my colleagues that the measures put in place haven't worked, and that we need to respect our witnesses and members' allotted time.
Are there any other questions or comments? Can we adjourn the meeting?
The meeting is adjourned.