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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 66

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 6, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie
  • May/6/22 12:18:28 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, I would ask you to call quorum. And the count having been taken:
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Mr. Michael Barrett
  • May/6/22 12:31:54 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, I was just wondering if you could verify that quorum is currently being met.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
The Deputy Speaker
  • May/6/22 12:32:02 p.m.
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There is a quorum call again. And the count having been taken:
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
The Deputy Speaker
  • May/6/22 12:32:18 p.m.
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There are 13 here, and we have a number of members online. Online does count on this list. We do have quorum. The hon. member for Winnipeg North.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Mr. Peter Julian
  • May/6/22 12:32:35 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, I did not want to interrupt my friend from Winnipeg North, but you should be aware that there are literally dozens of members of Parliament participating online. I do not understand the repeated calls for quorum when members of the Conservative Party should be aware that dozens of members are participating actively through Zoom in this hybrid Parliament.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Mr. Michael Barrett
  • May/6/22 12:33:06 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, it is not a lack of understanding. Members in the chamber are able to see the other members who are physically in the chamber. Not to discount the number of members who are online, but that number is in fact seven, not “dozens” as my hon. colleague said. There is no way for members in the House to verify that. That is why I respectfully requested that the Chair verify quorum.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux
  • May/6/22 12:33:49 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, I think it is important for members, before they stand up to try to be funny and call quorum, to ask a member in their caucus. For example, there are 33 members online right now. Members should be courteous, as opposed to interrupting a speech knowing full well there is quorum. The Conservative and Bloc members who have now done this should be a little more courteous to me, who happen to be speaking, and to members who might be having a meal.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
The Deputy Speaker
  • May/6/22 12:35:25 p.m.
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There are 25 members here in the chamber at this moment. There are nine with their cameras on. Members can be online, but if they do not have their cameras on, they are not counted in the quorum. The camera needs to be on. The hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie
  • May/6/22 1:12:04 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Madam Speaker, obviously, the members are so embarrassed by this filibuster that we do not have quorum in the House, even if we count the cameras that are on. Even the member for Winnipeg North is not in the chamber. I would ask you to call quorum.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • May/6/22 1:12:18 p.m.
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I would remind the hon. member that he is not to mention the absence or presence of other members in the chamber. Calling out a lack of quorum, however, is another matter. And the count having been taken: The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès): Counting the six members participating virtually, we have 22 members and we therefore have quorum.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux
  • May/6/22 1:12:47 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-5 
Madam Speaker, members on all sides of the House are very much aware that when we think of quorum, we should think about the members here virtually and those here in the chamber. The member made reference to me specifically but I never left the chamber. I ducked out to the corner to get a pedestal so that one of my colleagues would be able to speak, but that would have been for about three seconds.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie
  • May/6/22 1:13:25 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Madam Speaker, I want to apologize to the member for Winnipeg North. The rule against mentioning the absence or presence of a member had slipped my mind. I offer my sincere apologies to him. However, I would like to point out that when I mentioned the lack of quorum, only four members had their cameras on to participate in the debates virtually. We were therefore nowhere near the quorum of 20, which is why I raised a point of order.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux
  • May/6/22 1:14:09 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Madam Speaker, I think this is an important aspect, and I would ask you as the Speaker to maybe have a discussion on it. I just brought it up with the Table. When we think of the members here virtually, to the best of my knowledge, there is no rule that says they have to have the camera on or off, nor was any formal thing written that says if a member's camera is off, they are not part of the quorum. I am not looking for a response now, but I think the Speakers should have a discussion about this because there are arguments for and against having the camera on or off. I bring that up for what it is worth and would appreciate a ruling.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Ms. Christine Normandin (Saint-Jean, BQ)
  • May/6/22 1:15:00 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-5 
Madam Speaker, just to follow up, this has already been mentioned, but members in the chamber do not have the benefit of seeing who is online, whether members have their cameras on or not. That is one thing, which is why my colleague did not assume that there was no quorum. He asked that quorum be checked. In addition, given our hybrid mode, we know that we can also rise to speak from a seat other than our own. However, for the purposes of calculating quorum, I understand that the member for Winnipeg North referred to members who were in the lobbies. I would perhaps ask the Chair to clarify, in the hybrid context, what she considers as having quorum.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
Mr. Michael Barrett
  • May/6/22 1:15:42 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Madam Speaker, to the request from the hon. parliamentary secretary, the previous chair occupant already ruled and spoke to this. As he said, the requirement is that the camera must be on for a member to be counted toward quorum. That was said, and I am sure that if you check with our good folks at Hansard, they will confirm that was the ruling of the chair occupant on a previous quorum call today. I would also note that while the parliamentary secretary—
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • May/6/22 1:16:18 p.m.
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We are getting into debate. We will definitely look into this. I am not going to make a ruling on it today, but I will certainly bring it to the attention of the Speaker, and we will come back to the House with a proper definition of quorum and what counts as quorum. The hon. member is rising on the same point of order.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • May/6/22 1:16:51 p.m.
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I have just given an answer to that. We will look into it and come back to the House with a definition of “quorum”. The hon. member for Whitby may resume his debate.
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Context: House Hansard - 66 - May/6/22
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • May/6/22 1:25:43 p.m.
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Before we proceed, I would just like to return to the House. The Table has advised me that the quorum rules have been determined by the Speaker to be that, when people are in hybrid sittings, the cameras must be open to be considered part of the quorum. The hon. parliamentary secretary is rising on a point of order.
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