Transport Committee on April 28th, 2009

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

I thank the parliamentary secretary for reverting to type. He got a little uptight at the last intervention, and it probably happened because he thought the minister couldn't handle things on his own. Entering into a partisan political debate and then relying on the parliamentary secretary is not.... Monsieur Laframboise, you know that's a parliamentary secretary's duty, so we give him our benediction, but he shouldn't do it any more.

Anyway, I thank the committee for even thinking about this for a moment or two. We have a convention in Vancouver, and I think some people in other committees have looked at it and said that maybe to facilitate the travel of others they should put the meeting off to a subsequent date.

I'm in the enviable position of being able to be here on Thursday, inasmuch as my duties call for my presence physically, so if you guys want to meet and talk to just me, that's great. But in the interest of my other colleagues, if the rest of you are amenable, then sure, we'd welcome your flexibility in turning Thursday into a research day for the entire committee as the rest of the group goes out and does what constitutionally allows them to represent their parties and citizens.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Comments?

Mr. Dhaliwal.

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Newton—North Delta, BC]

I thank the government members for their input, and in fact I'm willing to be here on Thursday as well, as Mr. Volpe said. But certainly if it's the will of the committee, we thank the other members as well.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

I have Monsieur Laframboise, and then Mr. Jean.

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

If all of the Liberal members can be here on Thursday, that is fine with me. If you can all be here, the committee can meet. But I have no objections if not. I know that party conventions are a time for important decision making. I do not object to the committee not meeting on Thursday afternoon.

I will conclude by saying that we have a good parliamentary secretary. I remember some of the parliamentary secretaries during the Liberal era. You did a good job, Brian.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

I have Mr. Jean and then Mr. Bevington.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

I would like to say that we have a very good parliamentary secretary here as well. But in all seriousness, Mr. Volpe, with respect, I've always admired your work greatly, but I had a hard time keeping up with you and Mr. Kennedy in relation to the questions and answers to the ministers. Maybe that's because I'm a little slower than the rest of you, but I really did have difficulty following the line of questioning and understanding what the point was.

I would like to say, though, if you're prepared to be here, I'm prepared to be here. I'd like to get this next bill out. I would like to work, hear the witnesses, and get it done as quickly as possible. With all members being present, especially given regard to the bill itself and the possibility of having it through the House the next week, I think we should meet, hear the witnesses, and get this job done.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Mr. Bevington.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

I'll only deal with one matter here, and that's not the parliamentary secretary.

If I sensed some urgency in having to cancel this meeting, I'd be fine with it. I really rely on my Liberal colleagues in identifying that. If not, we can continue with the business, because of course one thing I have learned on this transport committee is there is a great volume of work to be done, and there isn't a great amount of meeting time. So if our Liberal members are fine with that, that's good. If they feel some urgency in having to leave, then I would support their doing that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Having heard all of the comments, I think we'll proceed with the meeting on Thursday. We will have the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, the Canadian Maritime Law Association, and Wilderness Tours. Then we will hopefully be looking at doing clause-by-clause on May 5.

If that's suitable to everybody, then I'll see you on Thursday.

The meeting is adjourned.