Journals of the Senate
53 Elizabeth II, A.D. 2004, Canada
Journals of the Senate
3rd Session, 37th Parliament
Issue 15
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
2:00 p.m.
The Honourable Daniel Hays, Speaker
The Members convened were:
The Honourable Senators
Adams, Andreychuk, Atkins, Austin, Baker, Banks, Beaudoin, Biron, Bryden, Buchanan, Callbeck, Carstairs, Chaput, Christensen, Cochrane, Comeau, Cook, Cools, Corbin, Cordy, Day, De Bané, Di Nino, Doody, Downe, Eyton, Fairbairn, Ferretti Barth, Finnerty, Fitzpatrick, Forrestall, Fraser, Furey, Gauthier, Gill, Grafstein, Graham, Gustafson, Harb, Hays, Hervieux-Payette, Hubley, Jaffer, Johnson, Joyal, Kelleher, Kenny, Keon, Kinsella, Kirby, Kroft, Lapointe, Lavigne, Lawson, LeBreton, Léger, Losier-Cool, Lynch-Staunton, Maheu, Mahovlich, Massicotte, Meighen, Mercer, Milne, Moore, Morin, Munson, Murray, Nolin, Oliver, Pearson, Pépin, Phalen, Plamondon, Poulin (Charette), Poy, Prud'homme, Ringuette, Robichaud, Roche, Rompkey, St. Germain, Sibbeston, Smith, Sparrow, Spivak, Stollery, Stratton, Tkachuk, Trenholme Counsell, Watt
The Members in attendance to business were:
The Honourable Senators
Adams, Andreychuk, Atkins, Austin, *Bacon, Baker, Banks, Beaudoin, Biron, Bryden, Buchanan, Callbeck, Carstairs, Chaput, Christensen, Cochrane, Comeau, Cook, Cools, Corbin, Cordy, Day, De Bané, Di Nino, Doody, Downe, Eyton, Fairbairn, Ferretti Barth, Finnerty, Fitzpatrick, Forrestall, Fraser, Furey, Gauthier, Gill, Grafstein, Graham, Gustafson, Harb, Hays, Hervieux-Payette, Hubley, Jaffer, Johnson, Joyal, Kelleher, Kenny, Keon, Kinsella, Kirby, Kroft, Lapointe, Lavigne, Lawson, LeBreton, Léger, Losier-Cool, Lynch-Staunton, Maheu, Mahovlich, Massicotte, Meighen, Mercer, Milne, Moore, Morin, Munson, Murray, Nolin, Oliver, Pearson, Pépin, Phalen, Plamondon, Poulin (Charette), Poy, Prud'homme, Ringuette, *Rivest, Robichaud, Roche, Rompkey, St. Germain, Sibbeston, Smith, Sparrow, Spivak, Stollery, Stratton, Tkachuk, Trenholme Counsell, Watt
PRAYERS
SENATORS' STATEMENTS
Some Honourable Senators made statements.
DAILY ROUTINE OF BUSINESS
Tabling of Documents
The Honourable Senator Rompkey, P.C., tabled the following:
2004-2005 Estimates, Parts I and II: The Government Expenditure Plan and Main Estimates.—Sessional Paper No. 3/37-60.
Presentation of Reports from Standing or Special Committees
The Honourable Senator Morin tabled the following (Sessional Paper No. 3/37-61S):
TUESDAY, February 24, 2004
REPORT OF EXPENDITURES
The Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament has for the purpose of its business incurred the following expenses during the Second Session of the Thirty-seventh Parliament, which are hereby reported pursuant to Rule 104 (Senate portion):
Professional Services — Transportation and Communications — Other $ 47 Witness Expenses — Total $ 47
During the Second Session of the 37th Parliament, your Committee considered three (3) orders of reference, held nine (9) meetings and heard more than eight (8) hours from twenty (20) witnesses and submitted two (2) reports in relation to its work.
Respectfully submitted,
YVES MORIN
Joint Chair during the Second Session of the
Thirty-seventh Parliament
Presentation of Petitions
The Honourable Senator Biron presented petitions:
Of Residents of the Province of Ontario with respect to declaring Ottawa officially bilingual.
The Honourable Senator Beaudoin presented petitions:
Of Residents of the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario with respect to declaring Ottawa officially bilingual.
A point of order was raised with respect to the adjournment proceedings of Friday, February 20, 2004.
Debate.
SPEAKER'S RULING
The question is one I think we can deal with on two grounds: One is the timeliness in raising the matter in question. The motions passed with unanimous consent were with respect to matters that had already taken place. For a remedy to be given, if the point of order were a good one, it would have had to have been raised before the matter that it related to was executed or completed. It is not our practice to go back to rescind or nullify a proceeding that was carried out with unanimous consent.
The other reason that I believe the point of order is one which does not affect matters that we have dealt with in this house is well covered in Beauchesne, sixth edition, at paragraph 18 on page 7. I will read Part 1 and Part 2. They deal with unanimous consent:
(1) Within the ambit of its own rules, the House itself may proceed as it chooses; it is a common practice for the House to ignore its own rules by unanimous consent. Thus, bills may be passed through all their stages in one day, or the House may decide to alter its normal order of business or its adjournment hour as it sees fit.
(2) The House is perfectly able to give consent to set aside —
This is the most relevant part:
— its Standing Orders and to give its unanimous consent to waive procedural requirements and precedents concerning notice and things of that sort.
That is perhaps the strongest ground we have in terms of the authorities that we rely on in this place.
Accordingly, there is no point of order.
ORDERS OF THE DAY
GOVERNMENT BUSINESS
Bills
Second reading of Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (Ethics Commissioner and Senate Ethics Officer) and other Acts in consequence.
The Honourable Senator Austin, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Rompkey, P.C., that the Bill be read the second time.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Oliver moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator LeBreton, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
With leave of the Senate,
The Honourable Senator Banks moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Moore:
That the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources have power to sit after the 5:30 p.m. vote today, even though the Senate may then be sitting, and that Rule 95(4) be suspended in relation thereto.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Bills
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Day, seconded by the Honourable Senator Christensen, for the second reading of Bill C-7, An Act to amend certain Acts of Canada, and to enact measures for implementing the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, in order to enhance public safety.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Beaudoin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Forrestall, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
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With leave,
The Senate reverted to Notices of Motions.
With leave of the Senate,
The Honourable Senator Oliver moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Keon:
That the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry have power to sit after the vote today, even though the Senate may then be sitting, and that Rule 95(4) be suspended in relation thereto.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
DEFERRED VOTE
At 5:30 p.m., pursuant to Rule 67, the Senate proceeded to the taking of the deferred standing vote on the motion in amendment of the Honourable Senator Comeau to the motion of the Honourable Senator Trenholme Counsell, seconded by the Honourable Senator Massicotte, for an Address to Her Excellency the Governor General in reply to her Speech from the Throne.
The question was put on the motion in amendment of the Honourable Senator Comeau, seconded by the Honourable Senator Beaudoin, that the motion be amended by adding:
"That the Senate of Canada regrets that the Speech from the Throne does nothing to either deal with the culture of corruption that has pervaded the federal government in the last ten years or to fix the broken machinery of the government system.''
The motion in amendment was negatived on the following vote:
YEAS
The Honourable Senators
Andreychuk, Beaudoin, Buchanan, Cochrane, Comeau, Di Nino, Forrestall, Gustafson, Kelleher, Keon, Kinsella, LeBreton, Lynch-Staunton, Nolin, Oliver, St. Germain, Stratton—17
NAYS
The Honourable Senators
Austin, Baker, Banks, Biron, Bryden, Callbeck, Carstairs, Chaput, Christensen, Cook, Cools, Corbin, Cordy, Day, De Bané, Downe, Fairbairn, Ferretti Barth, Finnerty, Fitzpatrick, Fraser, Furey, Gauthier, Gill, Grafstein, Graham, Harb, Hervieux-Payette, Hubley, Jaffer, Joyal, Kenny, Kirby, Kroft, Lapointe, Lavigne, Lawson, Léger, Losier- Cool, Maheu, Mahovlich, Massicotte, Mercer, Milne, Moore, Munson, Pépin, Phalen, Plamondon, Poulin, Poy, Prud'homme, Ringuette, Robichaud, Roche, Sibbeston, Smith, Sparrow, Stollery, Trenholme Counsell, Watt—61
ABSTENTIONS
The Honourable Senators
Atkins, Murray—2
The Honourable Senator Beaudoin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator St. Germain, P.C., that further debate on the motion for an Address to Her Excellency the Governor General in reply to her Speech from the Throne be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
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With leave of the Senate,
The Honourable Senator Stollery moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Maheu:
That the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs have power to sit after 6:00 p.m. today, even though the Senate may then be sitting, and that Rule 95(4) be suspended in relation thereto.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
With leave of the Senate,
The Honourable Senator Comeau moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Beaudoin:
That the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans have power to sit after 6:00 p.m. today, even though the Senate may then be sitting, and that Rule 95(4) be suspended in relation thereto.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Bills
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Moore, seconded by the Honourable Senator Ferretti Barth, for the second reading of Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (capital markets fraud and evidence- gathering).
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The Bill was then read the second time.
The Honourable Senator Moore moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Lawson, that the Bill be referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Order No. 3 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Second reading of Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and other Acts.
The Honourable Senator Harb moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Biron, that the Bill be read the second time.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Nolin moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Stratton, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
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Ordered, That all remaining Orders be postponed until the next sitting.
ADJOURNMENT
The Honourable Senator Robichaud, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Losier-Cool:
That the Senate do now adjourn.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
(Accordingly, at 6:00 p.m. the Senate was continued until 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.)