[Recorded by Electronic Apparatus]
Monday, September 23, 1996
.1149 
[English]
The Clerk of the Committee: Hon. members, I see a quorum. Your first order of business is to elect a chair, and I am ready to receive a nomination to that effect.
Mr. Finlay.
Mr. Finlay (Oxford): I nominate Ray Bonin as chair of this committee.
Mr. Murphy (Annapolis Valley - Hants): I second the motion.
Mr. Duncan (North Island - Powell River): May I have debate on that motion? For starters, I don't have my partner here, and the reason I don't have my partner here is that he was told by the House of Commons this morning that this meeting was off because it coincided with the bells. I don't think we can hold an election right now under these circumstances. It's totally inappropriate.
.1150
The Clerk: I'm sorry, a cancellation of the meeting would have been sent to all members had that been the case.
Mr. Duncan: He specifically phoned.
The Clerk: I'm afraid that a meeting is not cancelled unless members receive an official cancellation of the meeting. I regret it if there's been some confusion or misunderstanding.
May we vote on this? Mr. Finlay, seconded by Mr. Murphy, moves that Ray Bonin be elected chairman of this committee.
Motion agreed to
The Clerk: I declare Raymond Bonin elected chair of this committee in absentia.
May I have a motion for an acting chair in Mr. Bonin's absence? Mr. Harper.
Mr. Harper (Churchill): Mr. Murphy.
The Clerk: Mr. Harper moves that Mr. Murphy be acting chair for this meeting.
Motion agreed to
The Clerk: Thank you. Mr. Murphy, please take the chair as acting chair.
Mr. de Savoye (Portneuf): Mr. Chair, I would like to nominate as vice-chair
[Translation]
for the Official opposition, Mr. Claude Bachand.
[English]
Mr. Duncan: Mr. Chair, may I appeal to you in the same way as I appealed to the clerk when she was chairing earlier. I think it's most inappropriate to try to push this through right at the moment when we have the bells ringing in the House. We have a vote coming up. I don't have the person present who I expected to be present, because he was given other instructions when he phoned as to whether this meeting would start before the bells or after the bells. This meeting started after the bells, and I think this is most inappropriate.
The Acting Chairman (Mr. Murphy): My understanding is that if any changes had been made to this meeting, we all would have been notified of that. I, for one, called Mr. Bonin's office to see if the meeting was on, because I wondered about the bells, and in fact was told yes, it was. So I can't juggle this, because if this meeting had been cancelled, we all would have been notified. I'm sorry your member got waylaid, but I think we have to get on with the business.
We have two vice-chairs, too.
Mr. de Savoye: Do you have someone to second my motion?
Mr. McTeague (Ontario): I'll second the motion.
The Acting Chairman (Mr. Murphy): Thank you, Mr. McTeague.
Mr. Duncan: May I ask that this be a debatable motion for starters, and secondly, that it include a recorded vote when we do vote on the vice-chair position, please.
In terms of debate, my single question concerning the vice-chair position is this. I would like to know what the position of the individual from the Bloc would be should the Province of Quebec declare unilateral independence, what their position is on whether the native peoples in Quebec -
Mr. Patry (Pierrefonds - Dollard): There's a motion on the floor. We have to have a vote, please.
Mr. Duncan: - may separate or not from the province of Quebec. That's my question. If he's not prepared to put a position forward on that, then -
The Acting Chairman (Mr. Murphy): I think you could get that position individually, if you wanted to, from the Bloc. But we have a motion on the floor.
It's been moved and seconded that Claude be the vice-chair. I think we wanted a recorded vote.
Motion agreed to: yeas, 7; nays, 1
.1155
The Acting Chairman (Mr. Murphy): I declare that Mr. Bachand is the new vice-chair.
Mr. McTeague: Mr. Chairman, I have a nomination for another vice-president. That would be John Finlay.
Mr. de Savoye: I second that motion.
Motion agreed to
The Acting Chairman (Mr. Murphy): Thank you to three of the members for taking on these responsibilities.
We'll now close off proceedings and go to vote.