Bill C-316

Court Challenges Program Act

An Act to amend the Department of Canadian Heritage Act (Court Challenges Program)

This enactment amends the Department of Canadian Heritage Act to specify that, in exercising the powers and performing the duties and functions assigned to the Minister of Canadian Heritage under that Act, he or she shall maintain the Court Challenges Program.

Canadian Heritage

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, in relation to Bill C-316, an act to amend the Department of Canadian Heritage Act on the court challenges program. The committee studied the bill and decided to report it back to the House with amendments.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

I would like to amend Bill C-316 in the preamble by replacing lines 13 and 14 on page 1 with the following:

Whereas it is of utmost importance that it be possible to bring before the courts test cases of na-

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

Hello, everyone. I'm going to call the meeting to order here this afternoon. Welcome to meeting number 122 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. I would like to acknowledge that this meeting is taking place on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

Pursuant to the order of reference on Wednesday, November 22, 2023, the committee is resuming its consideration of Bill C-316, an act to amend the Department of Canadian Heritage Act respecting the court challenges program).

Before we begin, I would like to ask all members to consult the cards on the table for guidelines to prevent audio feedback. Take note of the following preventive measures in place to protect the health and safety of participants. Use only the black approved earpiece. The former grey ones are no longer in use. Always keep your earpiece away from the microphones, and when you're not using your earpiece, please place it face down on the sticker placed on the table for this purpose. Thank you for your co-operation.

Today we're going to look at Bill C-316, an act to amend the Canadian Heritage Act regarding the CCP. We welcome back our witnesses from the Department of Canadian Heritage, who are available once again to answer our questions on clause-by-clause. We have Blair McMurren, director general.

Welcome back, Mr. McMurren.

As well, for the first time, we have Ms. Labbé, manager of human rights.

Welcome to the committee.

We will resume debate on Ms. Rachael Thomas's subamendment to amendment G-2. That's where we're going to pick it up today.

Ms. Thomas, if you don't mind, could you lead us off on the subamendment to G-2?

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

I don't give consent, Chair.

This motion is in front of us. I'd like for this to be dealt with. I believe it's important to deal with this before we finish the legislation, Bill C-316. I think we can do this in the time we have remaining.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

I call this meeting back to order.

It has been agreed by all parties that we will move to the main estimates for the second hour, and we will push Bill C-316 to next week.

The procedure is that we will have six-minute rounds of questioning.

We welcome David Dendooven, the assistant deputy minister. Thank you for joining us.

We also have with us Joëlle Montminy, senior assistant deputy minister, along with Mr. Ripley and Ms. Mondou, both of whom have stayed. Thank you to the departmental officials.

Thank you, everyone, for agreeing to look at the main estimates for the second hour.

We will start with a six-minute round of questions from the Conservatives.

Mrs. Thomas, please go ahead.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

I was just going to say that we have the minister here for the hour. As unorthodox as it may be for this committee, why don't we get through the hour with the minister and see where we are at that point? Do we have questions for the officials on the main estimates? If we don't, then we can move on to Bill C-316. However, my understanding, just to be clear, is that the initial....

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Do we have the officials here for Bill C-316 and for the estimates?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

We came here today for the first hour with the minister and the officials. I thought for the second hour we were going to do Bill C-316, but if that's not the case and we're going to move ahead with the second hour from heritage officials on main estimates, I'm open to that.

What is the will of the committee here today?

Ms. Damoff, welcome to the committee.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Chair, it was in principle meeting number 121 that was suspended. If we want to move on to another agenda, meeting number 121 has to be adjourned to move on to the agenda for the next meeting.

I think what has been suggested is more of a friendly agreement to reverse the order of things by spending the first hour with the minister and then continuing our work on Bill C‑316 thereafter, with or without the departmental officials. The committee will then have to make that decision.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am under the same impression—because I've reserved also to be here on Tuesday of next week to do Bill C-316—that today would be the minister and officials, as agreed upon, for the two hours, which we normally do on pretty much every committee. We have the minister for the first hour and the officials for the second hour. Then, on Tuesday, we would do Bill C-316. Thank you.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

If I may, I think some of the confusion that we're facing is the fact that the last meeting was suspended, so I think it's caused some confusion as to where exactly we pick up.

Of course, knowing that the minister is here, the desire is to have her for an hour, and then, I think, but I don't really know, that the intent was then to respect the original agenda of this meeting by going back to Bill C-316.

At the end of the day, if we want to hear from the minister for the first hour and the officials for the second hour, I think Conservatives agree to that.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

We have the officials with the minister. Then we'll go to Bill C-316 for the second hour.

Are we all fine with that?

I think what Mr. Noormohamed was referring to was that we had two hours set aside for the main estimates, the first hour with the minister and these officials, and then the second hour, and you were thinking of just the officials for that.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Coteau, please let us know if it isn't working.

What I am proposing, Mr. Chair, is that we spend the first hour with the minister, as you suggested. If we still have questions for the deputy minister and her officials in the second hour, we can make a decision then.

I propose that we focus on Bill C‑316, if everyone is in agreement. I will nonetheless go along with the majority once the first hour with the minister is over.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Chair, from what my colleague Mr. Noormohamed said, I gather there is confusion as to the agenda for the second hour. I see what his concern is.

It is in fact urgent that we focus on Bill C‑316. We are at clause-by-clause consideration and we have to complete that because we have other things to tackle before the end of the parliamentary session.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Kevin Waugh]

No, I proposed the minister, who agreed to come for the first hour weeks ago and is here now for the first hour. We also have two people from the Canadian Heritage Department.

We'll go into Bill C-316 for the second hour. We'll have with us Blair and Flavie for that second hour.