Evidence of meeting #40 for Public Safety and National Security in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
It's not really a new amendment, because we can't meet on the 4th, right? We have only specified days. So you can—
4:30 p.m.
Conservative
Doug Shipley Conservative Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON
We don't know if we can meet next week and you were willing to do it on the 10th.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Well, there's more chance there.
All I'm saying is that Mr. Motz made his subamendment. We voted on it. We voted it down. It's problematic for me to re-engage that.
I mean, there has been more discussion. I think that's a fair point. If the room wants to vote on it, do we have agreement to consider this motion?
4:30 p.m.
An hon. member
No.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
I don't think we can do this without unanimous consent.
Having said that, I'm certainly willing to do my best with the clerk to arrange for this meeting as soon as possible. I guess one of the points of the whole discussion is finding a time that's going to work for the committee, finding a slot. We know that it's extremely difficult to find slots for committee work.
Go ahead.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Mr. Chair, why wouldn't we be able to meet on the 4th? That's a brand new day. It's not a holiday. It's a new day that we're proposing.
4:35 p.m.
An hon. member
It's a Friday.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Raquel Dancho Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
It's a brand new day, a new amendment. There's been new discussion, as you rightly pointed out.
4:35 p.m.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
Following Ms. Dancho's reasoning, you said we don't meet on Friday and we don't meet on Monday, but we're meeting today. By her logic, she's just proposing a different day, and I think it's by the 4th.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
We got lucky today. I should point that out again and again.
Ms. Damoff.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
I would ask whether the opposition parties would agree to having additional resources made available, particularly during the break week. We shouldn't call it break week because it's not a break; it's a constituency week. I don't know about other people, but I'm just as busy during those weeks as I am when I'm in Ottawa. It's just a different kind of busy.
I wonder if everyone would be in agreement with having additional resources made available during that constituency week so that if we're not dealing with the motion, if it passes, we would deal with Bill C-21 that week.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
I'm not sure that gets me out of my dilemma here.
Go ahead, Mr. Shipley.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Doug Shipley Conservative Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm back in now because Mr. Ellis had to leave.
I think saying by the 4th is definitely a new amendment. It's a different date, a different day. I don't know how we can say it's not a new amendment. I have a lot of faith in our good chair and clerk here, and I think if you squeezed this one in here today—and kudos to you, because I think you're doing a great job—then we could probably get something squeezed in and not have to take away from the important work we're doing on Bill C-21, Ms. Damoff.
None of us is trying to do that whatsoever. That's not what's in my mind. What we're trying to do is get this dealt with as soon as possible, and I'm hopeful that we can do both in the next two weeks—keep working on our Bill C-21 and at the same time squeeze in another meeting, as we're talking about doing, to deal with this issue that's pressing and pertinent now.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
4:35 p.m.
A voice
It's by the Friday—
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Doug Shipley Conservative Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON
It's by or on but by the end of that day—
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
If we can arrange another meeting, I'm happy to do that, and that's within the scope of the amendment as we've already undertaken it. I'm quite happy to do that.
We're working with the House administration and what resources are available. As I mentioned, for two weeks we've been trying to get some more time for Bill C-21 on Thursdays, and we've been turned down. We only got this because the foreign affairs committee cancelled their meeting. Then they wanted it back, but we already had it so they couldn't get it back.
House resources are extraordinarily tight. I think Mr. Shipley is Irish. I think he's got a bit of the blarney there. He complimented the chair, and that's always good.
I'll will accept that the 4th is a different date and we can vote on that. I'm kind of reluctant...I think it already clicks with what we've agreed to, but if we want to vote on that, let's vote on that subamendment.
Are we clear on Mr. Shipley's subamendment? We are.
Mr. Noormohamed, go ahead.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Taleeb Noormohamed Liberal Vancouver Granville, BC
Mr. Chair, I want to get clarification on something from Mr. Shipley.
I want to make sure that we're doing this and we're all committed to ensuring that we are not delaying Bill C-21 and that we're going to stick to the timelines to get Bill C-21 done as quickly as possible. Personally for me, that's an important commitment to hear, and I trust my friend Mr. Shipley completely when he says that. I want to make sure that is the sense of the room before I decide how I'm going to vote.
4:40 p.m.
Conservative