Paul Zed

[Special Joint Committee Of The Senate And The House Of Commons, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, on another pursuant to the same round of discussions that occurred between all parties the second motion is the following. I move:

That a special joint committee of the Senate and the House of Commons be appointed to develop a code of conduct to guide senators and members of the House in reconciling their official responsibilities with their personal interests, including their dealings with lobbyists;

That seven members of the Senate and fourteen members of the House of Commons be the members of the committee, and that the members of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be appointed to act on behalf of the House as members of the said committee;

That changes in the membership of the committee on the part of the House of Commons be effective immediately after notification signed by the member acting as the chief whip of any recognized party has been filed with the clerk of the committee;

That the committee be directed to consult broadly and to review the approaches taken with respect to these issues in Canada and in other jurisdictions with comparable systems of government;

That evidence adduced in the first session of the 35th Parliament by a special joint committee on the code of conduct be deemed to have been laid upon the table and referred to the committee;

That the committee have the power to sit during sittings and adjournments of the House;

That the committee have power to report from time to time to send for persons, papers and records, and to print such papers and evidence as may be ordered by the committee;

That the committee have the power to retain the services of expert, professional, technical and clerical staff;

That quorum of the committee be 11 members whenever a vote, resolution or decision is taken, so long as both Houses are represented and that the joint chairpersons be authorized to hold meetings, to receive evidence and authorize the printing thereof, whenever six members are present, so long as both Houses are represented;

That the committee be empowered to appoint, from among its members, such subcommittees as may be deemed advisable and to delegate to such subcommittees all or any of its powers except the power to report to the Senate and to the House of Commons;

That the committee be empowered to authorize television and radio broadcasting of any or all of its proceedings;

That the committee make its final report no later than June 21, 1996;

That, notwithstanding usual practices, if the Senate is not sitting when the final report of the committee is completed, the report be deposited with the clerk of the Senate and shall thereupon be deemed to have been presented to that House; and

That a message be sent to the Senate requesting that House to unite this House for the above purpose, and to select, if the Senate deem advisable, members to act on the proposed special joint committee.

(Motion agreed to.)

[Main Estimates, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to discussions I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That notwithstanding the order made on Thursday, March 7, vote 130 of the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1997 of the Department of Canadian Heritage be withdrawn from the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and deemed referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations; and

That vote 140 of the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1997 of the Department of Canadian Heritage be withdrawn from the Standing Committee on Government Operations and be deemed referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

(Motion agreed to.)

[Questions On The Order Paper, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[Committees Of The House, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I move that the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House earlier this day be concurred in.

[Committees Of The House, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and associate membership of various committees. If the House gives its consent I intend to move concurrence in the sixth report later this day.

[Government Response To Petitions, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to ten petitions presented during the first session.

[Privilege, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I have had an opportunity to review the motion that the hon. member has put forward and I see some problems with the recitals in the motion.

We need some time to consider the text carefully and perhaps offer some amendments or suggestions to the motion. For example, the recitals prejudge the reference that the hon. member is making.

Is the hon. member asking that this matter be sent to the committee? In his recital he is prejudging the decision that might be considered by the committee one way or another. The recital finds guilt or assigns blame. Rather than debate the merits of the matter in the House today, I move:

That the debate be now adjourned.

[Questions On The Order Paper, March 11th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[Committees Of The House, March 11th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House earlier this day be concurred in.

[Committees Of The House, March 11th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the fifth report later this day.