Public Safety Committee on Oct. 30th, 2023

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

Continuing to interrupt me while I have the floor just proves my point about the behaviour and lack of respect. That is a point of order.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

I have a point of order.

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

Mr. Chair, I would ask that the decorum of these meetings be upheld and that if members opposite cannot control their emotions—

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

I have a point of order.

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

—the chair rule them out of order and cut off their mike.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

On that point of order—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Excuse me. Thank you.

I believe this was on topic, because we are having a problem with decorum here and having a productive meeting.

While Ms. O'Connell was speaking, there were a couple of points of order. I lost track.

I think, Mr. Lake, you were first.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Given that you allowed Ms. O'Connell's point of order.... On that topic, we're sitting here today. From our understanding, a meeting was called a business day ago. Our members clearly couldn't make that meeting, because they had other obligations, so we have four members sitting here, who are not familiar with the legislation, trying to do the best we can to understand by asking questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Okay. As said, that has been dealt with.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

We're continuing to deal with it, though, and Ms. O'Connell was—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

It's the chair's prerogative to schedule meetings and to set the agenda. I did so on consultation with all the parties around the table. It was agreed—except by Mr. Shipley—that we should proceed with an extra hour today. In was well in keeping with my prerogative as chair to do so, and I did consult with all parties. A majority, basically, determined that it was okay to do this.

That matter is done, though. We can't unschedule this meeting, so if you want to carry on wasting time, I can't stop you—

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Don't interrupt the chair.

You may continue with your point of order, if you wish, but I just want to advise that this matter—the matter of having scheduled this meeting or not—is done. It's a fait accompli.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

The point of order, Mr. Chair, respectfully, is that you just accused us of wasting time with what we're doing here.

I was on House duty today. We needed a slot filled today. I volunteered to come over and fill the slot. I don't know the legislation that's being discussed today.

Because a meeting was scheduled where no sitting member of this committee on the Conservative side could be here, the legislation would just flow through without any of the issues that our experts on this committee might want to raise. We're not wasting time. We're trying to step in, because a decision was made, without our agreement, to hold this meeting, and we're here, filling in, doing the best we can to ask questions to understand what's happening with the legislation. It's not a waste of time. It's us doing our job.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

We do not need unanimous agreement to do these things.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

That's fine.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

If you wish to ask questions about NDP-34, by all means, do so. If you want to talk about all kinds of extraneous issues, I'm asking that you not do that. Stick to NDP-34, please.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

I believe Mr. Genuis had the floor.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

I have a point of order before I resume my comments, Chair, and that is just that I would encourage the chair to be fair and to act in a way that at least aspires towards some degree of impartiality, because when Ms. O'Connell is permitted to speak at great length on a matter that's—

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

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

We have Mr. Julian on a point of order.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

I'm sorry, but I am on a point of order already, so it's not automatic that you end my point of order in the middle—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

I did not recognize you on a point of order.

Mr. Julian, go ahead.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Okay. I'd like to be recognized on a point of order, though.