PROC Committee Meeting
Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.
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Minutes of Proceedings
Marc Bosc and Philippe Dufresne answered questions.
At 11:53 a.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 12:01 p.m., the sitting resumed.
On motion of Scott Reid, it was agreed, — That, in relation to the question of privilege related to the matter of the premature disclosure of the contents of Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying), the Minister of Justice be invited to appear as a witness.
It was agreed, — That in view of the following statement from the Member for Berthier-Maskinongé, wherein the Member accepts the apology made by the Prime Minister, the Committee take no further action in respect of its order of reference of May 19, 2016, concerning the question of privilege relating to the matter of the physical molestation of the Member from Berthier—Maskinongé; and that the matter be considered resolved:
"The matter that is before the PROC today is focused on a breach of the rights that are afforded to Members of Parliament. If anything impedes a Parliamentarian from carrying out the role their constituents elected them to undertake, it constitutes a serious matter.
In this case it was the Prime Minister himself that caused this breach when his inappropriate physical intervention with Conservative Whip Gordon Brown on the floor of the House of Commons resulted in physical contact that caused me to miss a vote.
The details of the unprecedented physical interaction between the Prime Minister and members of the opposition are well documented, and such an incident would not be acceptable in any workplace. It left many Members stunned and raised important questions about the conduct of the Prime Minister in a House that was already confronted with unprecedented government measures to limit debate.
I am pleased that PROC is moving forward to deal with the referral of the incident today. I believe that this, coupled with the Prime Ministers’ admission that his conduct was unacceptable, provide closure to this issue. I accept his apology and look forward to returning my focus to representing the people of Berthier—Maskinongé.
It is my sincere hope that all Members will work to ensure that we never see this conduct repeated, and also that we take this opportunity to recommit to improving the tone of debate in Parliament.".
ORDERED, — That the Chair make arrangements for an informal meeting with a parliamentary delegation from Austria on Tuesday, June 7, 2016.
At 12:44 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.