LANG Committee Meeting

The Standing Committee on Official Languages met at 8:50 a.m. this day, in Room C-110, 1 Wellington Street, for the purpose of electing a Chair, pursuant to Standing Order 106(1).

On motion of Mauril Bélanger, it was agreed, — That Michael Chong be elected Chair of the Committee.

By unanimous consent, the Clerk of the Committee presided over the election of the Vice-Chairs.

On motion of Robert Aubin, it was agreed, — That Yvon Godin be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Royal Galipeau, it was agreed, — That Mauril Bélanger be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Michael Chong took the Chair.

Guy Lauzon moved, — That the first nine (9) routine motions that the committee had in the 3rd Session of the 40th Parliament be adopted.

After debate, by unanimous consent, the motion was withdrawn.

On motion of Mauril Bélanger, 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.

Royal Galipeau moved, — That, the Subcommittee on the Agenda and Procedure be composed of (5) five members including the Chair, the two Vice-Chairs, the Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages and a member of the government party.

Debate arose thereon.

Yvon Godin moved, — That the motion be amended by adding after the words “government party” the following: “and another member of the official opposition”.

After debate, by unanimous consent, the amendment was withdrawn.

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

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

Debate arose thereon.

Royal Galipeau moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “four (4) members are present, including two (2) members of the opposition” with the words “five (5) members are present, including two (2) members of the opposition and three (3) members of the government party”.

By unanimous consent, the amendment was withdrawn.

Royal Galipeau moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “two (2) members of the opposition” with the words “one (1) member of the opposition and one (1) member of the government party”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Royal Galipeau and it was agreed to.

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

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence printed when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four (4) members are present, including one (1) member of the opposition and one (1) member of the government party.

Mauril Bélanger moved, — 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 advises the witnesses of the availability of a translation service.

Debate arose thereon.

John Weston moved, — That the motion be replaced by the following: “That only the Clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute to the members of the committee any of the documents, including motions; that all documents which are to be distributed among the committee members must be in both official languages; and that the clerk shall advise in advance all witnesses appearing before the committee of this requirement and inform them of the availability of translation services”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of John Weston and it was agreed to.

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

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That only the Clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute to the members of the committee any of the documents, including motions, and that all documents which are to be distributed among the committee members must be in both official languages; and that the clerk shall advise in advance all witnesses appearing before the committee of this requirement and inform them of the availability of translation services.

On motion of Dan Harris, it was agreed, — That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the Committee and its Subcommittees.

On motion of Bernard Trottier, 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.

On motion of Royal Galipeau, it was agreed, — 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 Bernard Trottier, 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 Mauril Bélanger, it was agreed, — That 48 hours’ notice be required for any substantive motion to be considered by the Committee, unless the substantive 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.

On motion of Royal Galipeau, it was agreed, — That the meetings with the Commissioner of Official Languages and any Minister be televised if possible.

Mauril Bélanger moved, — That any member of the committee be entitled to submit a dissenting or supplementary opinion to any committee report in accordance to the Standing Orders of the House, provided that it is no more than five (5) pages in length and submitted electronically, in both official languages, to the clerk in the 48 hours following the adoption of a report.

Debate arose thereon.

Dan Harris moved, — That the motion be amended by adding the words “That 48 hours’ notice be calculated in the same manner as for the House” after the word “report”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Dan Harris and it was agreed to.

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

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That any member of the committee be entitled to submit a dissenting or supplementary opinion to any committee report in accordance to the Standing Orders of the House, provided that it is no more than five (5) pages in length and submitted electronically, in both official languages, to the clerk in the 48 hours following the adoption of a report; and that 48 hours’ notice be calculated in the same manner as for the House.

Royal Galipeau moved, — That the witnesses from any one organization shall be allowed ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement. During the questioning of witnesses there shall be allocated seven (7) minutes for the first round of questioning, and thereafter five (5) minutes shall be allocated to each questioner in the second and subsequent rounds of questioning.

Debate arose thereon.

On motion of Mauril Bélanger, it was agreed, — That the motion be amended by adding after the word “that” the following: “at the discretion of the Chair”.

The Committee resumed consideration of the motion of Royal Galipeau, — That, at the discretion of the Chair, the witnesses from any one organization shall be allowed ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement. During the questioning of witnesses there shall be allocated seven (7) minutes for the first round of questioning, and thereafter five (5) minutes shall be allocated to each questioner in the second and subsequent rounds of questioning.

The debate continued.

Peter Julian moved, — That the motion be amended by adding after the words “subsequent rounds of questioning” the following: “That the order of the first round be as follows: the official opposition, the government, the third party and the government; that the second round, the order would be: the official opposition, the government, the official opposition, the government, the official opposition, the government and the government; and that the order of questions for the third round would be the same as the first round”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Peter Julian and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 4; NAYS: 7.

Mauril Bélanger moved, — That the motion be amended by adding after the words “subsequent rounds of questioning” the following: “That the order of questions be as follows: in the first (7) seven-minute round, the order should be: New Democrats, Liberals, and Conservatives. In the second (5) five-minute round, the order should be: New Democrats, Conservatives, and Liberals. In the third (5) five-minute round, the order should be: New Democrats, Conservatives, and Liberals. In the fourth (5) five-minute round, the order should be: Conservatives, New Democrats, and Liberals”.

Debate arose thereon.

Dan Harris moved, — That the Committee do now adjourn.

The question was put on the motion and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 4; NAYS: 7.

The Committee resumed consideration of the amendment of Mauril Bélanger, — That the motion be amended by adding after the words “subsequent rounds of questioning” the following: “That the order of questions be as follows: in the first (7) seven-minute round, the order should be: New Democrats, Liberals, and Conservatives. In the second (5) five-minute round, the order should be: New Democrats, Conservatives, and Liberals. In the third (5) five-minute round, the order should be: New Democrats, Conservatives, and Liberals. In the fourth (5) five-minute round, the order should be: Conservatives, New Democrats, and Liberals”.

The debate continued.

At 10:45 a.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.