LANG Committee Meeting

The Standing Committee on Official Languages met at 9:13 a.m. this day, in Room 213, Wellington Building, for the purpose of electing a Chair, pursuant to Standing Order 106(1).

On motion of Royal Galipeau, it was agreed, — That Steven Blaney be elected Chair of the Committee.

The Clerk of the Committee presided over the election of the Vice-Chairs.

On motion of Pablo Rodriguez, it was agreed, — That Lise Zarac be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Richard Nadeau, it was agreed, — That Yvon Godin be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Steven Blaney took the Chair.

On motion of Sylvie Boucher, it was agreed, — That the Committee retain, as needed and at the discretion of the Chair, the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work.

On motion of Shelly Glover, it was agreed, — That the Committee not establish a Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure.

On motion of Yvon Godin, it was agreed, — That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive and publish evidence when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four (4) members are present, including two (2) members of the opposition.

On motion of Yvon Godin, it was agreed, — That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the Committee only when they exist in both official languages, and that no document provided by a witness be distributed without the Clerk’s authorization and, since the documents must be in both official languages in order to be distributed, that the Clerk advise the witnesses of the availability of a translation service.

On motion of Sylvie Boucher, it was agreed, — That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the Committee.

On motion of Jean-Claude JC D'Amours, it was agreed, — That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses, not exceeding two (2) representatives per organization; and that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.

Jean-Claude JC D'Amours moved, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff person, in addition to one staff person from the office of the Whip of each party, at in camera meetings.

Shelly Glover moved, — That the motion be amended by deleting the words “the office of the Whip”.

After debate, by unanimous consent, the amendment was withdrawn.

On motion of Monique Guay, it was agreed, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “accompanied by one staff person” with the words “accompanied by one of his or her staff person”.

After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one of his or her staff person, in addition to one staff person from the office of the Whip of each party, at in camera meetings.

On motion of Shelly Glover, it was agreed, — That one copy of the transcript of each in camera meeting be kept in the Committee Clerk’s office for consultation by members of the Committee.

On motion of Monique Guay, it was agreed, — That 48 hours’ notice be required for any substantive motion to be considered by the Committee, unless the susbstantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration; and that the notice of motion be filed with the Clerk of the Committee and distributed to members in both official languages.

Yvon Godin moved, — That witnesses be given ten (10) minutes for their opening statement; that during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated:

For the first round, seven (7) minutes for the first questioner of each party in the following order: Official Opposition, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party, Government;

For the second round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Official Opposition, Government, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party;

For the third round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Official Opposition, Bloc Québécois, Government, New Democratic Party; and

For the fourth round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Official Opposition, Government, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party.

Shelly Glover moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing all the words after “That” with the words

“, at the discretion of the Chair, witnesses be given ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement; and

That, at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses the time allocated to each questioner be as follows:

For the first round, seven (7) minutes each: Liberal, Bloc Québécois, NDP, Conservative;

For the second round, five (5) minutes each: Liberal, Conservative, Bloc Québécois, Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Conservative;

For the third round, (5) minutes each: Liberal, Conservative, Bloc Québécois, Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Liberal, NDP; and

That when a minister is in attendance the order and time allocation for questioning witnesses be the same as above, with the exception that in the first round of questioning ten (10) minutes be allocated to each questioner of each party”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Shelly Glover and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 5; NAYS: 6.

Royal Galipeau moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing all the words after “for the second round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner” with the words “of each party in the following order: Official Opposition, Bloc Québecois, Government;

For the third round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Official Opposition and Government;

For the fourth round, five (5) minutes to a questioner from the Government; and

For the fifth round, time permitting and should Members wish to do so, a repeat of the first round with questions for three (3) minutes”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Royal Galipeau and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 5; NAYS: 6.

At 10:11 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 10:22 a.m., the sitting resumed.

Michael D. Chong moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing all the words after “For the first round” with the words

“five (5) minutes for the first questioner of each party in the following order: Liberal, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party, Conservative;

For the second round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Liberal, Bloc Québécois, Conservative, New Democratic Party;

For the third round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Liberal, Conservative, Bloc Québécois;

For the fourth round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Conservative, Liberal, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party; and

For the fifth round, time permitting and should Members wish to do so, a repeat of the first round with questions for three (3) minutes”.

Debate arose thereon.

Pablo Rodriguez moved, — That the amendment be amended by replacing the words “For the fourth round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Conservative, Liberal, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party;” with the words “For the fourth round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: New Democratic Party, Liberal, Conservative, Bloc Québécois;”.

After debate, the question was put on the subamendment of Pablo Rodriguez and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 4; NAYS: 7.

The question was put on the amendment of Michael D. Chong and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 5; NAYS: 6.

Michael D. Chong moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing all the words after “For the first round” with the words

“five (5) minutes for the first questioner of each party in the following order: Liberal, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party, Conservative;

for the second round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Liberal, Bloc Québécois, Conservative, New Democratic Party;

for the third round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Liberal, Conservative, Bloc Québécois;

for the fourth round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Conservative, Liberal, New Democratic Party, Bloc Québécois; and

for the fifth round, time permitting and should Members wish to do so, a repeat of the first round with questions for three (3) minutes”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Michael D. Chong and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 8; NAYS: 3.

Richard Nadeau moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “For the first round, five (5) minutes” with the words “For the first round, seven (7) minutes”.

The question was put on the amendment of Richard Nadeau and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 3; NAYS: 8.

The question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 8; NAYS: 3.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That witnesses be given ten (10) minutes for their opening statement; that during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated:

For the first round five (5) minutes for the first questioner of each party in the following order: Liberal, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party, Conservative;

For the second round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Liberal, Bloc Québécois, Conservative, New Democratic Party;

For the third round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Liberal, Conservative, Bloc Québécois;

For the fourth round, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner of each party in the following order: Conservative, Liberal, New Democratic Party, Bloc Québécois; and

For the fifth round, time permitting and should Members wish to do so, a repeat of the first round with questions for three (3) minutes.

At 10:46 a.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.