[Recorded by Electronic Apparatus]
Tuesday, September 26, 1995
.1545 
[English]
The Clerk of the Committee: Order.
I see a quorum.
[Translation]
Your first item of business is to elect a Chair. I am ready to receive motions to that effect.
[English]
Mr. Langlois (Bellechasse): It's my honour and my privilege to move that the honourable Carolyn Parrish be elected chair of this subcommittee.
[Translation]
Motion agreed to
[English]
The Clerk: I invite Mrs. Parrish to take the chair as chairperson.
[Translation]
The Chair: Thank you, Mr. Langlois.
[English]
Could Mr. Bélanger and I have a quick explanation? Is each bill decided on its own merits, or do you put them in a prioritized order?
The Clerk: We consider them in the order in which we can get members to come and appear. By and large, I start with that list, but of course there's a little bit of juggling to be done. Everything is done ultimately on its own merits. The subcommittee doesn't really discuss the merits of a bill or motion until it meets in camera after it has heard the testimony of every person wishing to have his or her item made votable.
The Chair: So in fact it would be good to have a consistent representation, and we should try to work into your schedule a little bit.
Mr. Bélanger (Ottawa - Vanier): How many of each are we to make votable?
The Clerk: The Standing Orders say that a maximum of five bills at second reading and five motions can be votable at any one time on the Order Paper. So the process involves hearing these witnesses but really not knowing the number you're going to be able to decide on, because a number will still have to be eliminated from the Order Paper in the next few weeks. Hence, we wait until the very last minute before making our final decision, and that's what I've tried to build into this little draft schedule.
The Chair: Would it suit the members of the committee and the clerk if we could pick at least that one day in order to hear the two members who are going away for two weeks?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Chair: Have we agreed that Thursday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. would be suitable?
Mr. Bélanger: No. We had it on Thursday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
The Chair: From 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday would be fine as well.
Mr. Bélanger: I'm flexible either way.
The Clerk: I'm told by Mr. Epp's office that he will not be available prior to 2 p.m. on any day because of his responsibilities for coordinating Question Period for his party. This is just for your information.
Mr. Bélanger: Fair enough.
Mr. Langlois: Do it at 3:15 p.m.
The Chair: We can hear those two at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday.
[Translation]
Mr. Langlois: On the 28th?
[English]
The Chair: For the rest, perhaps the clerk can try to coordinate a time that Mr. Langlois can fit into the schedule and that I can work around. The only day that's very poor for me is Wednesday.
Mr. Langlois: Are you available on Tuesday, October 3?
The Chair: Yes.
[Translation]
Mr. Langlois: Mr. Bélanger, will you also be available on the 3rd?
Mr. Bélanger: It depends on the time.
Mr. Langlois: It depends on the time.
.1550
[English]
I'm usually under ``L''. There's no problem with the time, so it can be at 3:30 p.m., or at 6 or 6:30. But my suggestion is that we have our deliberations just after we finish the hearings, so that all is fresh in our minds.
The Chair: Yes. Mr. Clerk, if we spent a good three hours on Tuesday and took a break, could we finish it that day?
The Clerk: Yes, I think so, Madam Chairman.
The Chair: Mr. Langlois, would that date suit you - October 3?
Mr. Langlois: Not me. But there will be a member of my party.
The Chair: Mauril, it's not good for you either?
Mr. Bélanger: No, it's not. If that's the only time, I'll have to juggle my schedule around to make it work. If you are going to go past 6 p.m., I'll have to excuse myself from 5:30 to about 7.
The Chair: That would be fine.
Mr. Epp, I'm going to get you up to speed here.
Mr. Epp (Elk Island): My apologies for being late.
The Chair: Unfortunately, you were too late to block my election to chairman, if that's what you wanted.
Mr. Epp: I wouldn't even have tried.
The Chair: Two members who have bills coming forward would like to have them heard this week because they're going away for two weeks, Mrs. Jennings and Mr. Strahl. So if we can we'd like to squeeze them in this Thursday from 3:15 p.m. to 4.
Mr. Epp: I don't know whether I'm going to sit on this committee. After what happened in the last half hour I think I need to be replaced. But let's just see for now.
The Chair: You didn't shoot anybody, did you?
Mr. Epp: Why do you say that? No, I feel more as if I got shot.
The Chair: We have so much fun here, you wouldn't want to leave this committee.
Mr. Epp: Is it in the afternoon?
The Chair: Yes, at 3:15 p.m. to 4; right after Question Period until 4 p.m. It is just to hear our two colleagues. Then we'll try to pick a day next week. What we're looking at is Tuesday from about 3:15 p.m. to 6, and then we will take a break and come back and make our decisions. That way we'll all be there. The clerk thinks we can do this.
The Clerk: Madam Chairman, presumably that would be a priority listing, because you won't have your final count available.
Mr. Epp: Sure. We'll go for that. If I can't be here, I'm sure we'll have a substitute, if that's acceptable.
The Chair: Yes, as long as, as Mr. Langlois has pointed out, it is the same person for both, so we can have some consistency.
Mr. Epp: Yes.
Mr. Langlois: Could Mr. Bélanger be back at about 7:30 p.m. if we have to continue next Monday?
Mr. Bélanger: I have a meeting lined up for 3:30 p.m., and it involves others than me.
The Chair: Can we look at Monday, then? Was Monday all right with you, Mr. Langlois?
Mr. Langlois: There will be somebody here.
The Chair: A lot of people are in transit on Fridays and Mondays.
The Clerk: Madam Chair, if in my consultations, my calls with the members, I have a situation where one or two members are simply not available next week but would like to be added to the list for this Thursday, within reason, do I have that possibility, or would you like to stick to just two?
The Chair: You say they take ten minutes each.
The Clerk: Yes.
The Chair: We'll jam them in; get as many in as you can.
The Clerk: Fine.
The Chair: We'll process them in and out.
Mr. Epp: I do in fact have a problem with Thursday, so there will be someone else. I'm on this code of conduct committee.
The Chair: So am I. So we're going to go half an hour late.
Mr. Epp: Yes, but if I'm half an hour late, my whole party is missing.
The Chair: Can't you send a substitute? They're just listening to witnesses.
Mr. Epp: Yes, they are. I like to hear it, because I like to get into cross-examination of these guys.
But we'll figure something out. Something will happen there.
The Chair: You say we don't have to have this done until October 18?
The Clerk: That's right, yes.
.1555
The Chair: So the only two we have to hear right away are the two we are hearing on Thursday. Why don't we leave the other date open?
The Clerk: I'm saying that because one never knows what's going to happen in the House. What if we have withdrawals, changes, and schedule changes? Of course, on Tuesday, October 17.... The House will have been down for ten days prior to that period.
The Chair: Keep us under control; that's your job. There are too many free spirits.
The Clerk: That's the complicating factor.
The Chair: Let's stick to the date we picked. Mauril will hate me, but hopefully Mr. Epp will miss just 15 minutes of the other meeting, or will have somebody who will be here on both of those dates.
Are those sufficient dates for you?
The Clerk: Certainly. I'll work on those, and if I have a problem, then I'll be in the subcommittee's hands.
Mr. Epp: So it's on Thursday from 3:15 to 4 p.m. and on Tuesday from 3:15 to 6 p.m.
The Chair: Right. If we need to take a break and come back later in the evening, then we will do that, despite the fact that you all know that it's my birthday.
Mr. Epp: On October 3?
The Chair: Yes.
Mr. Epp: So you are 39?
The Chair: I'm 39 years old and holding.
That was tough, but we did it.
For Thursday, October 5 you're going to want decisions on votable items, and on Tuesday, October 17 we'll report to the standing committee.
Is there any further business?
Mr. Langlois: Are we on the air now?
The Chair: I don't know.
The Clerk: Yes.
Mr. Langlois: I shall ask for a very brief in camera session.
The Chair: Yes, sure.
[Proceedings continue in camera]