CONTENTS
Wednesday 22 April 1992
Election of Chair
Election of Vice-Chair
Business subcommittee
Committee business
STANDING COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT
Chair / Président: Kormos, Peter (Welland-Thorold ND)
Vice-Chair / Vice-Président: Waters, Daniel (Muskoka-Georgian Bay/Muskoka-Baie-Georgianne ND)
Conway, Sean G. (Renfrew North/-Nord L)
Dadamo, George (Windsor-Sandwich ND)
Huget, Bob (Sarnia ND)
Jordan, Leo (Lanark-Renfrew PC)
Klopp, Paul (Huron ND)
McGuinty, Dalton (Ottawa South/-Sud L)
Murdock, Sharon (Sudbury ND)
Offer, Steven (Mississauga North/-Nord L)
Turnbull, David (York Mills PC)
Wood, Len (Cochrane North/-Nord ND)
Clerk pro tem / Greffière par intérim: Manikel, Tannis
Staff / Personnel: Anderson, Anne, research officer, Legislative Research Service
The committee met at 1541 in committee room 1.
ELECTION OF CHAIR
Clerk pro tem (Ms Tannis Manikel): I call this meeting to order. It's my duty to call upon you to elect a Chair. Are there any nominations?
Interjection: What's his name?
Mr Daniel Waters (Muskoka-Georgian Bay): Peter who? Peter Kormos.
Clerk pro tem: Mr Kormos has been nominated. Are there any further nominations? Seeing none, I declare the nominations closed and Mr Kormos elected Chair.
Mr Waters: I'd like to hear his campaign speech first.
The Chair (Mr Peter Kormos): No, you don't. My record speaks for itself.
I want to thank my nominator and I want to thank the committee for the confidence it's shown in me. It's an impressive exercise to see this democratic process whereby committees elect their Chair, wherein persons from any of the three parties could be nominated by whomever and, depending upon the degree of confidence the committee has in him or her, could be elected to this position. I think the rule changes that were implemented have proven to be workable and effective -- and I need the extra money.
ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR
The Chair: We are now in the process of electing a Vice-Chairperson. Any nominations for the position of Vice-Chairperson?
Mr Len Wood (Cochrane North): I nominate Dan Waters.
The Chair: Are there any further nominations? There being no further nominations, I declare the nominations closed and Mr Waters is acclaimed as Vice-Chairperson.
BUSINESS SUBCOMMITTEE
The Chair: Mr Waters, I trust, is moving that a subcommittee on committee business be appointed to meet from time to time at the call of the Chair or at the request of any member thereof to consider and report to the committee on the business of the committee; that substitution be permitted on the subcommittee; that the presence of all members of the subcommittee is necessary to constitute a meeting; and that the subcommittee be composed of the following members: Kormos, Waters, McGuinty and Turnbull.
Motion agreed to.
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
The Chair: The committee has two options now, first to discuss as a committee -- and it may elect to do this as committee of the whole or in camera -- what it proposes to deal with in the immediate future, or to adjourn and refer the matter to subcommittee, which would then meet immediately thereafter. Any comments in that regard?
Mr Dalton McGuinty (Ottawa South): I don't see why we couldn't deal with this in subcommittee.
The Chair: Are there any other comments? Everybody's nodding their heads in agreement? This is a consensus. Oh.
Mr David Turnbull (York Mills): Sorry. One thing Mrs Cunningham wanted to bring to the attention of the committee as opposed to just the subcommittee was that with respect to her private member's bill, the bicycle helmet bill, several members of the public have come forward and would like further public hearings. She requests, first of all, that she could have extra time allocated for it, and in addition to that she felt it might be useful for her to appear before this committee and discuss a strategy. Being accepted, I understand, by the government that it would like to move ahead with this legislation, she thought it might help the situation.
The Chair: It's my understanding, and others can correct me if I'm wrong, that the committee had agreed that in view of the fact that it hasn't completed its questioning of all the people who wished to make presentations, there were going to be scheduled further presentations. That's number one. Second, Mrs Cunningham obviously isn't here today but is welcome, of course. Third, the subcommittee of course cannot bind the committee. I'm sure we'll take into consideration what you've had to say. You're of course on the subcommittee, but the committee can overrule the subcommittee. But there's been no objection to the proposition that there be more time allotted to that bill for further consideration and, more important, for further hearing of witnesses.
Ms Sharon Murdock (Sudbury): Isn't it correct, and I stand to be corrected on this, that the mover of a bill carries it in clause-by-clause anyway?
The Chair: Oh, yes. Mrs Cunningham is always welcome here and will be sitting here beside the Chair, whoever the Chair might be on that day -- no two ways about it. She of course can appear here as of right at any time on any matter and speak to it, as far as I'm concerned, contrary to what some other chairs in the past have been instructed to do.
Ms Murdock: My understanding too, having spoken with Mrs Cunningham, is that she would only require one day for hearings, just to inform the subcommittee.
Mr Waters: Further to that, I have just asked the clerk about that. I think we want to make sure that everyone who wanted to come before the committee has an opportunity to come before it. We can deal with all that in subcommittee.
The Chair: Any other comments on that specific matter?
Mr Turnbull: Just that my understanding was that she felt more than one day of public hearings was required.
Ms Murdock: Not on that particular matter; another matter.
The Chair: Obviously you don't agree on that. Ms Cunningham can clear that up when she has a chance to speak to us.
Mr Waters: We've basically dealt with the whole question here in committee. Why don't we just continue on and allow for future hearings? We've sat here and dealt with what we're going to talk about in subcommittee.
The Chair: All right then, we'll go back to what had been our agreement by consensus, and that is to refer the balance of matters to the subcommittee.
Ms Murdock: No. I have another matter.
The Chair: For committee or for subcommittee?
Ms Murdock: No. Yes. Well --
The Chair: Which is which?
Ms Murdock: It could be for subcommittee, depending on the answer I get. This is in relation to the standing order 123 that was brought forward on the Workers' Compensation Board, where the interim report is going to be submitted to this committee I believe on May 16. We asked for it, whatever time it was; I believe it was mid-May. Did we use up the whole 12 hours, and if not, are we allocating any time to go over that interim report?
The Chair: There is some time left, and you may want to spend some time with the subcommittee when it meets immediately after this. There may be, for instance, 38 minutes left, give or take a few minutes -- not a whole lot of time, but you may want to join the subcommittee to address that specific matter.
Now we're adjourned until Monday coming at 3:30 in the afternoon. Thank you, people.
The committee adjourned at 1549.