Mr. Speaker, we have just been notified of a Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage meeting to take place tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. On that point of order, this notice was sent out by the committees directorate advising of that meeting of Canadian Heritage without the required 48 hours' notice. The notice states that the order of the day is pursuant to Standing Order 106(1) and (2), election of the chair and vice-chairs.
As you well know, Mr. Speaker, Standing Order 106(1) states in part that:
...the Clerk of the House shall convene a meeting of each standing committee whose membership is contained in that report for the purpose of electing a Chairman, provided that forty-eight hours' notice is given of any such meeting.
The heritage committee did meet this morning after 48 hours' notice, but failed to elect the chair and so dispersed.
As I mentioned earlier, a notice has now been sent to my office stating that a meeting has been rescheduled for tomorrow, which in my view is in violation of the 48 hours' notice provision. I have inquired with the clerk in charge of committees and the Clerk of the House, who state that the 48 hours' notice in their opinion is not required because it has been given earlier. To back up this point of view they cite one incident from the 35th Parliament involving the public accounts committee.
I submit that the one incident does not constitute a proper precedent. I submit the former clerk of the House said that “Often bad precedent does not make good practice”. I would submit also that this is the case here today, especially given that at the time of that incident both the official opposition and the third party in the House were brand new to this environment and did not have enough knowledge or experience to question the ruling made at that time. As Mr. Speaker will know, at that time there were some 205 of 295 newly elected members to the House.
I would therefore ask, Mr. Speaker, that you rescind this notice in favour of a new notice that respects the standing orders, particularly the 48 hours' notice.