Public Safety Committee on Oct. 23rd, 2023

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

The debate shall now ensue on the subamendment.

Did you wish to speak more to it?

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Our witness has been very eloquent on this.

What I seek to do is make the language stronger. This committee rejected the first amendment, and we're now on the second amendment. I think it can be bolstered and rendered stronger, so I would propose that subamendment in order to accomplish that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Very well, thank you.

The debate is now on the subamendment.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Chair, could Mr. Julian perhaps specify where in the wording he would like to replace certain words? If he could specify exactly where it is in the French version, I would appreciate it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Back to you, Mr. Julian.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The wording proposed in the subamendment would begin with "In making recommendations for appointments of members of the Commission, the Minister must seek to reflect", rather than "the Governor in Council".

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

All right.

Mr. Gaheer, go ahead.

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

I was going to propose a different subamendment, so I will wait.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Mr. Bittle.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

My question is for the legislative clerk. In terms of subbing in “Minister” for “Governor in Council”, is there any impact? Does this go against traditional forms of drafting, or does it matter at all?

[Philippe Méla, Legislative Clerk]

In this case it does not.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Let's vote on this.

All in favour of Mr. Julian's subamendment?

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Can I ask for a recorded vote, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Yes, very well. Can we do that as a recorded vote, please?

(Subamendment negatived: nays 6; yeas 5)

The subamendment is defeated.

Mr. Gaheer.

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

We support the amendment with a subamendment, and I think this subamendment achieves a level of balance, especially in line with what the witnesses have been saying. It reflects what the government is proposing in other bills, and it also doesn't overly constrain the Governor in Council either.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Excuse me, but the subamendment has been defeated.

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

I'm proposing a new subamendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Go ahead.

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

In the new subamendment, in the first line before the comma, I would change it to “in making recommendations for appointments of members of the Commission”.

This language also mirrors what's found in Bill C-40, which deals with the miscarriage of justice reviews. This way we can ensure consistency amongst federal review agencies.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Would you be able to give us that in writing?

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Yes, we can circulate that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Are you going to be able to do that right away?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

I'm sorry, Mr. Chair, we're going to have wording changes, as we did before, so we should be able to move on. We can write it out, but this is going to happen throughout the process of this—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

That's fair enough.