QUESTION PERIOD — Business of the Senate
April 9, 2019
Honourable senators, before proceeding to Question Period, just for clarity’s sake, following Question Period, which will be 40 minutes or shorter than that, if there are fewer questions to take up the 40 minutes, the bells will continue ringing for the balance of the one hour as if Question Period had not interrupted the bells.
Your Honour, before Question Period starts, I wish to ask the Leader of the Government a question.
We were anticipating the minister of public works — I’ll get it right; it’s this bracelet that I’m wearing — the Minister of Public Safety here today to answer pertinent questions that we had as a result of a very long Defence Committee meeting yesterday. I’m wondering why the minister chose today to not come to Question Period. Before we start, Your Honour, could the leader answer that?
I would be happy to answer in the context of the time allotted for Question Period.
Senators, we have had the tradition of having ministerial Question Period, and we go through the motion when that is available. I certainly consult leaders as to who and which minister, at what time, comes. We have had the experience from time to time — I think it has only been a couple of times — where circumstances intervene and the minister who was otherwise available becomes unavailable. In the case of Minister Goodale, he was looking forward to coming. However, as Minister of Public Safety, he was called to an urgent meeting and informed me he would be unable to attend.
Lest the honourable senator suggests there is a conspiracy in either the minister’s mind or his that this had anything to do with Bill C-71’s timing, he informed me before I was aware of the committee having completed its work. As you know, he appeared before the committee last week for an enjoyable hour.
Well, Senator Harder, I want to make a point that some of us here actually believe this august chamber is a fairly important institution, as important as the other place. For us to just cancel a meeting that we would have had over there would have been unacceptable. The minister was quite well aware.
And yes, let me repeat: I have specific concerns and doubts about whether there was some conspiracy there. I’ll be the first to put that on the record. His bill got amended yesterday.
Do we have an assurance, Senator Harder, that the minister will maybe come next week, before this becomes old news?
Perhaps the honourable senator would like to speak to his leader, who suggested that we have the minister who was otherwise scheduled, Seamus O’Regan; for the subsequent week, we not have any minister; and for the final week for ministerial questions, we have Minister Morneau.
If there are other suggestions to be made by leadership, I’m happy to entertain them.
