SDEV Committee Meeting

38th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION

Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Development of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade

EVIDENCE

CONTENTS

Monday, October 31, 2005

The Clerk of the Committee

Mr. Stockwell Day (Okanagan—Coquihalla, CPC)

The Clerk

Hon. Navdeep Bains (Mississauga—Brampton South, Lib.)

The Clerk

The Clerk

Hon. Navdeep Bains

The Clerk

The Clerk

The Chair (Hon. Paul DeVillers (Simcoe North, Lib.))

The Clerk

The Chair

The Clerk

Hon. Paddy Torsney (Burlington, Lib.)

The Chair

The Clerk

Hon. Paddy Torsney

The Chair

Hon. Paddy Torsney

The Chair

Mr. Stockwell Day

Hon. Paddy Torsney

The Chair

Hon. Paddy Torsney

Mr. Stockwell Day

The Chair

The Clerk

The Chair

Mr. Stockwell Day

The Chair

The Clerk

Hon. Paddy Torsney

The Clerk

The Chair

Mr. Stockwell Day

The Chair

Hon. Paddy Torsney

The Chair

Hon. Paddy Torsney

The Clerk

The Chair

Mr. Joe Comartin (Windsor—Tecumseh, NDP)

Hon. Paddy Torsney

The Chair

Hon. Paddy Torsney

The Chair

CANADA

EVIDENCE

Monday, October 31, 2005

[Recorded by Electronic Apparatus]

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»  (1735)  

[English]

    The Clerk of the Committee: Honourable members, I see a quorum. Pursuant to the order of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Thursday, October 14, 2004, and Standing Order 106, your first order of business is to elect a chair, and I am prepared to receive nominations to that effect.

    Mr. Day.

[Translation]

    Mr. Stockwell Day (Okanagan—Coquihalla, CPC): I propose that the member from Simcoe-North be elected chair of the committee.

[English]

    The Clerk: Mr. Day moves that Paul DeVillers be chair of the committee.

    Are there any other nominations? I'm in the hands of the committee.

    Hon. Navdeep Bains (Mississauga—Brampton South, Lib.): I'd like to nominate Stockwell Day from Okanagan--Coquihalla for vice-chair.

    The Clerk: We'll proceed to the vice-chairs after the election of the chair.

    Are there any other nominations for chair?

    Having asked once, twice, thrice, I declare the nominations closed. All those in favour of Mr. DeVillers being the chair of the committee? All opposed, if any?

    (Motion agreed to)

    The Clerk: I declare Mr. DeVillers duly elected chair of the subcommittee. We will now proceed to elections of the vice-chair. Are there motions for the nomination for the vice-chairs?

    Mr. Bains.

    Hon. Navdeep Bains: I'd like to take this opportunity to nominate for vice-chair the member Stockwell Day from Okanagan--Coquihalla.

    The Clerk: Mr. Bains nominates Mr. Stockwell Day for the position of vice-chair of the subcommittee.

    Are there any other nominations for vice-chair? I declare the nominations closed.

    All those in favour of Mr. Day being the vice-chair? All those opposed, if any?

    (Motion agreed to)

»  (1740)  

    The Clerk: I declare Mr. Stockwell Day vice-chair of the subcommittee.

    I invite Mr. Paul DeVillers to take the chair.

    The Chair (Hon. Paul DeVillers (Simcoe North, Lib.)): Thank you very much to the subcommittee members for their vote of confidence. We don't have a formal agenda, but a couple of members have spoken to me about the time of meeting. Apparently in the past the assigned time was on Wednesday at 3:30.

    The Clerk: That's when the subcommittee chose to meet, sir.

    The Chair: Okay. That's when the subcommittee chose to meet, but apparently there are conflicts. Are there any suggestions for an alternative time--provided, Mr. Clerk, it's from Monday to Thursday with a time that can be worked out with the party whips?

    The Clerk: Mr. Chair, through you to the subcommittee, the whips have agreed to a rotational block system, but as you are well aware, the subcommittee can choose to meet when it wishes to, but that is subject to us being bumped by a group that has priority in that block. Officially, the whips had agreed that from 5:30 to 7:30 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, the subcommittees would meet, but of course that doesn't prevent the subcommittee from meeting when it wishes.

    Hon. Paddy Torsney (Burlington, Lib.): Before you became the chair, we had a request that everybody submit what their alternate meeting times were. If we could perhaps trust you and the clerk, in consultation with the others...3:30 is now a problem on Wednesdays for me and for a couple of other members because our committees were moved off the Tuesday-Thursday slot. I'm free all day Tuesday and Thursday, but it doesn't help everybody else necessarily.

    The Chair: Do we have those on file, Mr. Clerk?

    The Clerk: Mr. Chair, for the previous reconstituted committee I did send out a query, and I've only had an answer back from one office, actually.

    Hon. Paddy Torsney: That would have been from me.

    So can you guys get your answers in?

    The Chair: If we could ask—

    Hon. Paddy Torsney: It's much more orderly if you do it that way.

[Translation]

    The Chair: We would have to change the time of our meetings. At least two members have a conflict of schedule on Wednesday.

[English]

    Mr. Day, was that what you were saying, that you had a conflict as well?

    Mr. Stockwell Day: No. It's my understanding as well that you cannot meet on the same day as the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. So that excludes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

    Hon. Paddy Torsney: Is there actually a rule that you can't meet on the same day?

    The Chair: Yes, because it overlaps, but maybe you can meet at different times, or the same day at a different time.

    Hon. Paddy Torsney: You could meet at a different time, but you couldn't meet during the same time slot, because it wouldn't be fair.

    Mr. Stockwell Day: Okay, if that's the clarification, then—

    The Chair: Can we get that clarification from the clerk then?

    The Clerk: The clarification you'd like is whether the subcommittee can meet at the same time?

    The Chair: No, not at the same time.

    Mr. Stockwell Day: We know we can't meet at the same time, but is the same day okay?

    The Chair: Is it okay?

    The Clerk: Absolutely.

    Hon. Paddy Torsney: So I understand we were circulating all the possible times and people were checking off the times that worked for them.

    The Clerk: Mr. Chair, what I had been instructed to do was to send around the rotational committee schedule and to ask members to indicate in which blocks they would be available.

    If you wish, I could do that with the newly constituted committee.

    The Chair: Yes, that would be appreciated. Then we can work out a convenient time.

    Also, at the same time, there was apparently a work plan or a request of the previous committee for a work plan. So if we could also solicit your comments on the proposed work plan at the same time, then we could deal with it at our next meeting.

    Yes, Mr. Day.

    Mr. Stockwell Day: I believe that at one of our previous meetings we had decided on a work plan in terms of priority items. I would hope that we would continue that and follow it through. We've done the work on developing the plan, Mr. Chair.

    The Chair: Okay.

    Hon. Paddy Torsney: I haven't seen the plan, but I would just reiterate that I hope it has development and trade in it.

    The Chair: If I could ask the clerk to circulate what was agreed upon, then we can deal with that at our first meeting. Whether we confirm it or there are members who want to suggest changes, we can deal with it then and formally adopt a work plan at that time.

    Hon. Paddy Torsney: Excellent.

    The Clerk: Okay.

    The Chair: Mr. Comartin.

    Mr. Joe Comartin (Windsor—Tecumseh, NDP): Are the people who are here the committee, or are there additional members?

[Translation]

    Hon. Paddy Torsney: I believe there is also Mrs. Bourgeois.

[English]

    The Chair: Yes, there is Madame Bourgeois and Monsieur Blais. So we're one short, with one substitute. Madame Bourgeois will be the Bloc member, Helena Guergis and Mr. Day will be the Conservatives, and Ms. Torsney and Mr. Bains are the Liberals, along with the chair.

    Hon. Paddy Torsney: Quality, not quantity.

    The Chair: If there is no further business, we'll get Ms. Torsney off to her Halloween obligation!

    Thank you.

    The meeting is adjourned.