Public Safety Committee on June 15th, 2011

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

The way we did it the last time...and we're in agreement with the first round and the second round. I think the trick is the third round. Whether you go back to the first round or the second round, it's unlikely, to be frank, that you're going to get to the Liberal position even if you did go back to the first round, to 7, 7, and 7. That's the position we in the NDP were in the last time, and we rarely got to that position, but it did happen on occasion.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

I think you had some pretty good chairing--

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Yes, it was outstanding chairing that would sometimes see us speak a second time.

But either way, we had 37 seats in the last Parliament. When the times were figured out, we ended up going down to 36, but we had 37. That's exactly how we had it: seven minutes in the first round. But I'm pretty sure that in the last Parliament for the third round we reverted back to the first one to go 7, 7, and 7, so....

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

It would end up being basically the same.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

It would be pretty much the same, yes. Would you like to repeat the--

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Do you know what else we could do? We could actually put it at the discretion of the chair. If it's the third round, the chair can decide.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I think you should set it out.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Here's what I would want to see happen. Francis, you weren't on this committee, but Don, Brent, and some others were. I want to see that if everybody wants to ask a question, they get a chance to ask a question. If somebody doesn't have another question when we come to the third round and you're sitting there champing at the bit, generally I've been pretty lenient that way, but it is nice to have it spelled out. It's nice to have some of those things on the paper.

You're going to be drawing up this speaking list. Would it go back to the first?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Yes, it would go back to the first.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

That then would give you--

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Possibly.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Would we go back to the first with seven minutes or--

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

No, it would be five, in the same order.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

That would mean we're leading it off again. If we were at third round, it would go back to the first, so we'd lead off.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

It goes back to the five minutes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Okay.

Next is appending dissenting or supplementary opinions to committee reports. The motion reads as follows: that every party shall have the right to attach, as an annex, a dissenting--

[Brent Rathgeber, Conservative, Edmonton—St. Albert, AB]

I have a point of order.

We didn't vote on the last--

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Oh, I'm sorry. All in favour of the rounds?

(Motion agreed to)

Thank you, Mr. Rathgeber.

[Brent Rathgeber, Conservative, Edmonton—St. Albert, AB]

Any time. I'm here for you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

He is.

On appending dissenting or supplementary opinions to committee reports, the motion reads that every party shall have the right to attach, as an annex, a dissenting opinion on any report to be presented to the House of Commons by the committee; and that this dissenting opinion shall be submitted to the clerk of the committee within 72 hours of the passing of the report by the committee.

Basically this is giving you an opportunity.... It's spelled out pretty clearly.

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

We don't need the.... We'd just tag on that.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Was this on the dissenting or supplementary opinions?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Yes.

Are we all right with that, then? Ms. Hoeppner, are you okay with that?

(Motion agreed to)

I think that's all I have--

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Do we have a letter?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Oh, yes, I do want to bring this out. I don't know if this is in order, Mr. Clerk, but when I arrived here, I was handed a letter from the Minister of Public Safety.

I don't know if you want me to read the letter. Ms. Hoeppner, are you aware of...?