Evidence of meeting #19 for Public Accounts in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was camera.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Daryl Kramp Conservative Prince Edward—Hastings, ON
I'm not worried about that. The motion isn't it.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
4:30 p.m.
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
Go ahead. If I'm missing something, tell me.
I'll go to him, and then I'll come to you. Let me hear the facts now, just the facts.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Andrew Saxton Conservative North Vancouver, BC
With all due respect, Mr. Chair, you will recall that during the last session when we were in camera discussing committee business, Mr. Byrne did bring up this subject. Well, I'm not even going to go there. But subject to this....
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Andrew Saxton Conservative North Vancouver, BC
Because that's going in camera. We're going down a very slippery slope.
4:30 p.m.
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
That's why I want to take the time. I don't want to get it wrong.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Andrew Saxton Conservative North Vancouver, BC
It's clear that what Mr. Byrne is attempting to do is he's taking things that were done in camera and trying to get them out of camera, and he's using every trick in the book to do that.
Mr. Chair, I just warn you that we're going down a very slippery slope.
4:30 p.m.
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
Well, I hear you, and he can use the tricks as long as they're in order.
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Andrew Saxton Conservative North Vancouver, BC
But we're not.... As my colleague Mr. Kramp mentioned, we're not discussing the motion, Mr. Byrne's motion: we're discussing the subject that was discussed at length while we were in camera. So Mr. Byrne now using his motion as a guise to then bring up issues that were discussed in camera is a very slippery slope.
4:30 p.m.
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
--but I find it hard to believe that any subject matter dealt with in camera means that you can never as an MP talk about that subject matter again. What you cannot do is talk about the dynamics that happened within the meeting, but certainly you're not prohibited and muzzled from addressing an issue just because you dealt with it in camera. You are prohibited from reporting or commenting on what took place in the room.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Gerry Byrne Liberal Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate you allowing me to reply to the point of order raised by the members of the government. It's important that those who have been interrupted are afforded an opportunity to reply to what has been raised.
Mr. Chair, what's being done here is that the committee members, myself in particular in this instance, were being raised or held to a standard that doesn't exist. The motion has been tabled as per the Standing Orders.
My motion has been tabled. It has been circulated to committee members. It has not been called yet by the chair. Certain members of the committee are asking me as a member to be held as if this were in camera when it hasn't even been heard yet. How can an expectation be held of me to refrain from even commenting about my motion, to act as if it was in camera...? I know that the government intends to put it in camera--
4:35 p.m.
An hon. member
Point of order, Mr. Chair.
4:35 p.m.
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
On the three or four points of order here, let me just give Mr. Byrne a chance. There's nothing wrong or out of order in terms of him having the floor right now.
I will come to you in a minute.
December 5th, 2011 / 4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
My point of order is that we have a lot of high-priced help here. We are being very disrespectful.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Gerry Byrne Liberal Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL
Then, Ms. Bateman, your member should not have raised the point of order.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
I think he's being very disrespectful to people who have come from their busy schedules to share the information, to enlighten us. We are here. We have an opportunity to ask questions of these professionals. We should respect that our internal business meeting is starting at 5:15 and we should respect the professionalism of these fine public servants.
4:35 p.m.
NDP
The Chair NDP David Christopherson
That was the ruling I made at the beginning. Where it got complicated was when Mr. Byrne decided to go down a certain line of questioning and it was your colleagues who said he was out of order. I'm trying to deal now with whether or not Mr. Byrne may continue his comments. That's where we are.