Evidence of meeting #69 for Public Accounts in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was meeting.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Clerk of the Committee  Mr. Georges Etoka
Sheila Fraser  Auditor General of Canada, Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Ken Cochrane  Chief Information Officer, Treasury Board Secretariat
Steven Poole  Chief Executive Officer, Information Technology Services Branch, Department of Public Works and Government Services
Jim Alexander  Deputy Chief Information Officer, Chief Information Officer Branch, Treasury Board Secretariat

5 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON

Mr. Chair, that's outrageous. We have work to do. I can't understand why the Bloc would want to shut down the work of this committee.

We have work to do. They are cancelling the work we are suppose to do.

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

Order.

There's no debate on this matter. We're going to have a vote on it. So let's have the vote. Is this a recorded vote? It's called a motion to adjourn. It's not debatable. We vote on it.

5 p.m.

NDP

David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON

But it was on a point of order. You can't move a motion on a point of order.

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

He's made a motion to adjourn.

5 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Yves Roy Bloc Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

Mr. Chairman, I will go about it differently. I am tabling a motion to adjourn.

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

Do we have support to adjourn this meeting?

5 p.m.

Conservative

David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON

A point of order.

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

Yes.

5 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Yves Roy Bloc Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

You do not need unanimous consent.

5 p.m.

Conservative

David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON

I believe twenty minutes ago this committee voted, by majority, to go back to the orders of the day and continue with our witnesses, and I have no idea, when we all sustained the chair, why we're not doing that. It's very simple. We all sustained that. We're ready to go. Let's do the work of the committee. The Auditor General is here, and we've tied up these hard-working public servants all this time, and an officer of Parliament.

5 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Yves Roy Bloc Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

Mr. Chairman, I have a point of order. This is a motion.

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

Mr. Sweet, you have a perfectly valid point, but I guess if there are individual members who insist on raising these matters, I'm at the mercy of the committee.

5 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Yves Roy Bloc Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

No, Mr. Chairman. The motion has been tabled, and it is a votable motion which is not to be debated.

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

The chair advises me that Mr. Roy has made a motion to adjourn the meeting and you can always do that and it's up to the committee whether we adjourn or not. So let's have a vote on this and make a decision on it.

5 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON

So they want to go home early now.

5 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Yves Roy Bloc Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

Mr. Poilievre, there is no debate on this motion.

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

It's a recorded vote. Let's get going here. He's making a motion to adjourn right now. It's about as simple as you can make it.

(Motion negatived: nays 9; yeas 2)

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

The motion has been defeated.

Now let's get back to the business at hand that we've agreed to do—opening statements from the witnesses—or we might get a bit past that.

I apologize to the witnesses for all these procedural things that have occurred here and thank you very much for your patience and your endurance.

5 p.m.

Conservative

John Williams Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB

Mr. Chairman, the orders of the day say that we would hear from the Auditor General first, have the motions last, and if we had followed the orders of the day we would have been a lot better off.

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

We went through there already, Mr. Williams.

Madam Fraser, perhaps you could begin with your opening statement.

5 p.m.

Sheila Fraser Auditor General of Canada, Office of the Auditor General of Canada

Mr. Chair, before I go to my opening statement, I realize you have voted to continue, but we have 25 minutes scheduled, which means that we will read in opening statements and we will really not have any discussion.

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

My suggestion would be, and if the committee is agreeable, we could maybe get the opening statements in, and then proceed with this matter on Wednesday, if that's agreeable.

5 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON

Chair, do you know what? Let's skip dinner and let's go until 6:30. That's when the votes are.

5 p.m.

Conservative

The Vice-Chair Conservative Brian Fitzpatrick

That would be agreeable.

5 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON

There you go. We have work to do.