[Recorded by Electronic Apparatus]
Thursday, February 6, 1997
.1107 
[English]
The Chairman: I call this meeting to order. Welcome. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and a belated happy new year to all.
This morning I anticipate a very short meeting to deal with a couple of quick items. Then under other business it would be my intention to talk about the requirement to have a steering committee meeting to look at other issues we would need to look at as a committee.
Mr. Langlois asked for a status and update on the Referendum Act review, which some of you may remember we got a briefing note on last week.
First is the Subcommittee on Private Members' Business, a tabling of a report. I'd be pleased to receive a motion that the report from the Subcommittee on Private Members' Business be adopted as the committee's 51st report to the House and that the chairman present the report.
[Translation]
Mr. Langlois (Bellechasse): I would simply like to tell my colleagues that in accordance with a rather well established tradition, the four bills and two motions are recommended unanimously, all members having agreed.
[English]
Motion agreed to
The Chairman: Madam Clerk, perhaps you would want to have a brief comment on the committee budget before we go to other business.
The Clerk of the Committee: Yes. I've circulated to members a copy of the analysis of committee encumbrances. As members can see, as of January 7 the balance is $1,800 approximately. We're just asking for a $5,000 budget, because we went with the initial $10,000 that is allowed for all standing committees at the beginning of a fiscal year, so it's just to finish off the fiscal year.
Why $5,000? Because I don't really know what the expenses will be for the subcommittees, if they're planning on inviting further witnesses or having working lunches for the discussion of draft reports. That's why the $5,000.
[Translation]
Would you like me to explain it to you in French?
[English]
The Chairman: Let's get a motion on the floor first.
.1110
Could I have a motion that the committee adopt the proposed budget request in the amount of $5,000 to cover operating costs for the committee and its subcommittees on private members' business and business of supply for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1997, and that the said budget be presented to the budget subcommittee of the Liaison Committee?
Mr. Harb (Ottawa Centre): I so move.
Mr. Frazer (Saanich - Gulf Islands): I wonder if our clerk could give us historical data. Is this normal for the committee? What would be the normal average budget over the years for the committee?
The Clerk: It's approximately $11,000, because it's a committee that doesn't travel and it's a committee that usually sits at given periods, which means that they don't sit in the evening or they don't have long afternoon meetings where that necessitates working lunches or working -
The Chairman: I think Mr. Frazer's question is do you have an historical recollection that you could bring forward and say some years it's $20,000 and some years it's $9,000?
The Clerk: Every year there's a report tabled by the committees directorate on committee expenses, and I could provide you with a copy.
Mr. Frazer: No, I didn't want.... I just wondered, is this historically in the ball park?
The Clerk: Yes, it is.
Mr. Frazer: It is. Okay.
The Chairman: I would think it is. I've chaired the industry committee and the government operations committee, and this is the smallest budget I've ever seen. That's probably because, as the clerk has said, it doesn't go anywhere. I would say we do a lot, but -
Mr. Frazer: I think we do too.
The Chairman: We're quiet and sober people over here; we don't get into too much jazz.
Anything further on that? Yes, Mr. Langlois, s'il vous plaît.
[Translation]
Mr. Langlois: Could we not take a few cents out of the $5,000 to buy some diet Coke? Those juices give me heartburn and it hurts.
[English]
Mr. Harb: I second the motion.
The Chairman: I don't think we need an amendment to the motion. I think the clerk has taken note of your dietary request, and it doesn't need to form part of this motion.
[Translation]
Mr. Langlois: I would ask the clerk if she is satisfied with the remarks or if she needs a motion.
The Clerk: I do not need to say whether I am satisfied or not. I will take note of the request and act accordingly.
[English]
Motion agreed to
The Chairman: Marlene, was there nothing in your world that you had wanted to raise on your subcommittee?
Ms Catterall (Ottawa West): No. We're plugging away. We have a draft report and we're doing our best to get it finished.
The Chairman: Colleagues, on the future business of the committee to be discussed, we had a couple of issues that had come up. What I'd ask you to do for a steering committee next week, on a convenient day, either Tuesday or Thursday, is think about the kinds of issues we would need for the future business of this committee.
I understand that Jamie has done a note recently, which we have. We have, as you know, a statutory obligation to review the Referendum Act, so that matter is obviously one item that needs to be put into the hopper.
I'd ask whether there are other issues colleagues wish to put forward so that the steering committee.... We don't need to have a lot of steering committee meetings. I'd like to have one steering committee and an agreement at the steering committee as to what the work of the committee would be, and then that information would come forward to the committee of the whole, to all of the larger committee.
Mrs. Catterall on that please.
Ms Catterall: It would be helpful to me in doing that if before our next meeting Jamie could give us kind of an updated list of issues that have been brought to us and what their status is. It seems to me we decided on a work plan when Parliament resumed in September, and we obviously haven't done all the things on that work plan.
For instance, we were going to do a more thorough look at the Elections Act, but it may be a little bit redundant to do that right now. We had several issues brought in front of us with regard to accessibility of parliamentary reporting, which I think we could in fact deal with, particularly in the light of a report that's been prepared by a task force on integrating persons with disabilities. Perhaps that's one thing we could do something concrete on.
.1115
I'd like to just have a refresher on what those items were the committee raised before and where they stand.
The Chairman: Monsieur Langlois.
[Translation]
Mr. Langlois: Do we need to discuss the Main Estimates in the steering committee? It should be statutory. Okay. The clerk has indicated that the answer is yes.
[English]
The Chairman: All right.
Mr. Frazer: Mr. Chair, I just register for your consideration that I won't be available on Tuesday.
The Chairman: Okay. Let's tentatively look at Thursday then. I'd like to try to have all the steering committee available. So next Thursday at 11 a.m. for a steering committee meeting. And in advance of that meeting, perhaps as early as Tuesday, Jamie, if you wouldn't mind, try to circulate a list. If colleagues have any suggestions.... Marlene's given some out-loud thoughts, but if you wish to put anything further in writing, even just a little note or a memo to myself, to the clerk, or to Jamie, do that. Okay?
Ms Catterall: So are we not meeting on Tuesday, then?
The Chairman: No.
Ms Catterall: Good. My subcommittee will have more time to -
The Chairman: There's no need to. My view is there's no need to have a meeting if there's no subject to meet about. We're all busy enough. It's been my view that this committee will find it's own level of water quickly anyway. There will be some crazy thing happen out of the blue and we'll be seized with some issue we need to deal with, but no more, j'espère.
We're adjourned. Thank you.