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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 127

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 15, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 127 - Nov/15/22
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
  • Nov/15/22 3:26:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have just a small note, given the last statement by the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby, but the worker bees of Parliament are quite often the Greens. To the hon. government House leader, as Greens, we do not have access to the House leaders meetings. I know that cannot be discussed as they are in camera. However, I am at a loss to know why a procedural motion to allow this work to proceed was not able to be agreed upon without time allocation. What also comes to mind, after an amendment was put forward and also after hearing the hon. member for Shefford from the Bloc, who spoke moments ago, is if there is an issue here that is a real issue or if this is gamesmanship. The real issue is whether the House can do its work and whether every committee can be properly staffed if we move in the direction of the motion before us.
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Context: House Hansard - 127 - Nov/15/22
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
  • Nov/15/22 4:55:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have tried to remember the context in which one hon. member from the Conservative Party talked about the Constitution. In fairness, it was not an effort to say that the Constitution said that MPs do not want to work late. The point was that our committee work is also important work in Parliament. On this issue I feel torn. I will certainly vote for the main motion that we should be prepared to work until midnight to get work done, but I am concerned. Committees do important work. In all seriousness, because I respect the opinion of the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby a great deal, the committees do important work. Sometimes we have witnesses come who are refugees or who have been tortured, and this is a specific example, but they have been sent away because we do not have the resources to stretch. Could we not, in this place, get the resources we need to both work late and keep committees going?
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Context: House Hansard - 127 - Nov/15/22
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
  • Nov/15/22 5:16:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on the subject of quorum calls, I was troubled to see the other night during a quorum call that it was clear there were members in the lobby who did not come out. I looked at the Standing Orders, and we have no standing order that requires a member of Parliament who is within a few steps of the chamber to show up when there is a quorum call. Would the hon. member agree with me that PROC should have a look at this to see whether we should add to our Standing Orders that when there is a quorum call, the assumption when those rules were written was that any member who was ambulatory would get in and get to their seat, because there was a stronger sense of duty in those days? I wonder if we should have PROC look at it.
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