Madam Speaker, Motion No. 7, introduced by the hon. member for Saanich-Gulf Islands, echoes debates which took place in committee. At our very first meeting to study Bill C-67, on February 16, our colleague pointed out that clause 28 is ambiguous. This clause stipulates the manner in which a request to appear before an appeal panel of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board must be made. It stipulates that an appellant may present evidence and arguments to support a case, but at the same time, as it now stands, the board cannot hear oral testimony.
Therefore, our colleague asked Brian Chambers, a legal advisor for the Department of Justice, a few questions. He tried to explain to us the nuance between "oral arguments" and "evidence presented under the form of testimony". Unfortunately, his explanation was not compelling in the least, and we still had doubts and found the clause ambiguous. We therefore reached the consensus that we would have to modify clause 28, in order to clarify what was meant by the word "evidence" and by the word "arguments".
This is what the amendment proposed by the Reform member does. The amendment essentially aims to specify that, when an appellant submits evidence, what is meant is documentary evidence. By the same token, when the clause mentions arguments presented by an appellant before the appeal panel of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, we can only understand that to mean oral and written arguments. This would clarify that a veteran or that person's representative cannot present oral testimony which contains evidence. All oral presentations must be limited to arguments, that is, the reasoning on which the appeal request before the tribunal is based. No new facts can be submitted in this manner at this stage. If an appellant or a representative wishes to submit new facts as evidence, they must do so in writing, in the form of a document.
The official opposition agrees with this point and consequently supports the proposed amendment and Motion No. 7 concerning clause 28 of Bill C-67.