Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Issue 1 - Evidence for June 15, 2011
OTTAWA, Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs met this day at 4:21 p.m., pursuant to rule 88 of the Rules of the Senate, to organize the activities of the committee.
[English]
Shaila Anwar, Clerk of the Committee: Honourable senators, as clerk of your committee, it is my duty to preside over the election of the chair. I am ready to receive motions to that effect.
Senator Fraser: I am pleased to nominate Senator Wallace.
Ms. Anwar: Are there any other nominations?
Senator Watt: I move that nominations be closed.
Ms. Anwar: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Fraser that the Honourable Senator Wallace take the chair of the committee. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
Ms. Anwar: I declare the motion carried, and I invite Senator Wallace to take the chair.
Senator John D. Wallace (Chair) in the chair.
The Chair: Thank you very much for that, colleagues. Certainly the applause is a nice touch, and maybe it is something we should continue after every session. Sometimes we need it. Not that Senator Fraser ever seemed to need it, but reinforcement from your colleagues is always appreciated. Thank you so much.
I do want to say, and these are not just words and I truly mean it, that I am very honoured to have this position. Any of us who have served on this committee realize the importance that it does serve, the quality of the work that is conducted by this committee, the seriousness with which all the members approach what we do and the thoroughness with which we approach it, and I can assure you that will most certainly continue with me in the chair.
I take this opportunity as well to acknowledge the tremendous contribution that was made by Senator Fraser as chair of this committee. I arrived here as a senator some two and a half years ago, and I have been on this committee throughout that period. Senator Fraser has been the only chair that I have known, and she has done a truly wonderful job. She was always balanced in her approach and fair, and I know for all of us she was an example and a reminder of the need for thoroughness and to not take the job lightly. I do not think any of us ever do, but certainly with Senator Fraser we were always reminded of that. Senator Fraser, thank you very much for your contribution.
Senator Fraser: Thank you very much.
The Chair: I will now preside over the election of a deputy chair. I am ready to receive nominations to that effect. Are there any nominations?
Senator Runciman: Mr. Chair, it is a distinct honour to nominate Senator Fraser to act as the deputy chair of this committee.
The Chair: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: I declare the motion carried.
Before proceeding with each of the other motions, I believe you have received copies of them in advance of the meeting and hopefully had a chance to consider them. Rather than read the detail of each of the motions, I would propose to refer to the item number and the lead-in to each of those motions. However, if there are any motions you wish that I read in full, I will certainly do that. I am cognizant that at least one member of our committee has a five o'clock commitment with another committee, so, as much as we can, while still doing the job properly, I would like to move it along as quickly as we could.
Item 3, the next motion, deals with the creation of a Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure, or what is known as the steering committee. May I ask for a mover of this motion?
Senator Fraser: So moved.
The Chair: It is moved by Senator Fraser. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
Motion 4, the next motion, allows us to publish the committee's proceedings. May I ask for a mover of this motion?
Senator Meredith: So moved.
The Chair: It is moved by Senator Meredith. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
The fifth motion relates to the authorization to hold meetings and to receive evidence when quorum is not present. May I ask for a mover of this motion?
Senator Chaput: I so move.
The Chair: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Chaput. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
No. 6 is the financial report. Honourable senators, you have already received a draft copy of the committee's first report, prepared in accordance with rule 104. This report outlines the committee's expenditures from the previous session, along with a summary of the work that was conducted.
May I ask for a mover of this motion?
Senator Boisvenu: I will move it.
The Chair: It is moved by Senator Boisvenu. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
The next motion, No. 7, deals with research staff. May I ask for a mover of this motion?
Senator Frum: I so move.
The Chair: It is moved by Senator Frum. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed? Abstentions? I declare the motion carried.
At this point, since this relates to our research staff, I would like to introduce two analysts who have been assigned to the committee from the Library of Parliament, Mr. Robin MacKay and Ms. Julia Nicol. I would ask that they come to the table, please.
I know from my experience on this committee, and I know I speak for all of you, that we are very proud of the quality of work that is performed by this committee. All of us do everything we can to ensure that standard is always met. However, I cannot overestimate the quality of the work we have from our research staff. It is outstanding, and I am sure with Robin and Julia that will continue. We look forward to having you with us, and we are pleased to have you.
We will move to No. 8, granting the authority to commit funds and certify accounts. May I ask for a mover for this motion?
Senator Fraser: So moved.
The Chair: It is moved by Senator Fraser. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed? Abstentions? I declare the motion carried.
No. 9 deals with travel. May I ask for a mover of this motion?
Senator Lang: I so move.
The Chair: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Lang. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed? Abstentions? I declare the motion carried.
No. 10 is the designation of members travelling on committee business. May I ask for a mover for this motion?
Senator Boisvenu: I so move.
The Chair: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Boisvenu. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed? Abstentions? I declare the motion carried.
No. 11 is a motion regarding the travelling and living expenses of witnesses. May I have a mover of in this motion?
Senator Meredith: I so move.
The Chair: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Meredith. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed or abstentions? I declare the motion carried.
No. 12 is a motion that deals with communications. May I have a mover for this motion?
Senator Chaput: So moved.
The Chair: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Chaput. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed? Abstentions? I declare the motion carried.
No. 13 deals with the time slot for our regular meetings. As you may be aware, the regular time slots for this committee are on Wednesdays from 4:15 to 6:15, and Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Unless otherwise indicated, the meetings will be in this room, 257 East Block. We found in the last session that many of our presentations ran over, especially on Thursday. We felt we needed more time. We may go to the whips of the parties to look for an extension of time that would allow us to sit until 1:15, but that is a matter that will be taken up by the steering committee in a meeting to follow. However, I wanted to make you aware that that could occur.
Item 14 involves other business. Honourable senators, unless someone has some other business they would like to raise, I would propose we move in camera to discuss future business.
Senator Fraser: Before you do that, chair, you spoke eloquently and entirely accurately about the work of the Library of Parliament. I would add a comparable word of appreciation for the work of the clerk. The clerks in the Senate keep us going.
The Chair: I wholeheartedly agree, and it just shows how capable Ms. Anwar is, not that I take her for granted, but she is always there and does tremendous work. Thank you for that, Senator Fraser.
Senators, may I have a mover for the motion that we go in camera?
Senator Lang: So moved.
The Chair: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Lang. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Any opposed? Abstentions? Carried. I would say that all senators' staff are entitled to remain in the room during the in camera session.
(The committee continued in camera.)