NDVA Committee Meeting

STANDING COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL DEFENCE AND VETERANS AFFAIRS

COMITÉ PERMANENT DE LA DÉFENSE NATIONALE ET DES ANCIENS COMBATTANTS

EVIDENCE

[Recorded by Electronic Apparatus]

Tuesday, October 2, 2001

• 0902

[English]

The Clerk of the Committee: Pursuant to Standing Orders 106(1) and 106(2), your first item of business is to elect a chair. I am ready to receive motions to that effect.

Mr. Bob Wood (Nipissing, Lib.): I would like to nominate David Pratt as chair.

The Clerk: It is moved by Mr. Wood that Mr. David Pratt be the chair of this committee.

(Motion agreed to)

The Clerk: I declare Mr. Pratt duly elected chair of the committee and invite him to take the chair.

Mr. Leon Benoit (Lakeland, Canadian Alliance): Congratulations, David.

The Chair (Mr. David Pratt (Nepean—Carleton, Lib.)): Thank you very much, Leon. Thank you, colleagues.

It's now my pleasure to accept nominations for the position of vice-chair.

Mr. Anders.

Mr. Rob Anders (Calgary West, Canadian Alliance): I'd like to nominate Leon Benoit.

The Chair: Okay, Mr. Benoit is nominated.

Mr. Dromisky.

Mr. Stan Dromisky (Thunder Bay—Atikokan, Lib.): Yes, I nominate David Price, please.

The Chair: Are there any other nominations?

Mr. Peter Stoffer (Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NDP): I can't say it for myself. We can make history—the first time a New Democrat is a chair of anything.

Mr. Leon Benoit: That kind of history I don't know if we need.

The Chair: Mr. Stoffer, it appears that you are short one nominator.

I move the nominations closed.

All those in favour of Mr. Benoit and Mr. Price?

(Motion agreed to)

The Chair: Mr. Price, do you have an item you want to bring before the committee?

• 0905

Mr. David Price (Compton—Stanstead, Lib.): Yes, I have an item. I'd like to move that this committee report by the end of November on the issue of counter-terrorism, and that the report be an interim report to our overall study on operational readiness.

The Chair: Okay, that motion will need the unanimous consent of the committee because it's typically the sort of motion that is dealt with by the steering committee.

(Motion agreed to)

The Chair: Not seeing any other business, and noting the fact that there is a briefing for delegates to the NATO parliamentary association, I am prepared to adjourn the meeting.

Mr. Benoit.

Mr. Leon Benoit: We gave a list of some motions with respect to some witnesses we'd like to have come before the committee. It was before the other committee; I understand that. But I would like to ask for unanimous consent to just move that forward to this committee. You have a copy of the motions from before.

The Chair: As far as I'm aware, Mr. Benoit, those motions were considered by the steering committee. It is my impression that those motions were brought before the steering committee because—

Mr. Leon Benoit: No. They weren't.

The Chair: We didn't bring them before the steering committee. Strictly speaking, Mr. Benoit, those items were dealt with by the last committee. This is a newly constituted committee.

Mr. Leon Benoit: I understand that; I'm just asking for unanimous consent, in the spirit of the mood here.

The Chair: With respect, Mr. Benoit, I think we dealt with those motions. In fact, we're calling several of the witnesses you had suggested.

Mr. Leon Benoit: Yes, but it isn't all of them. That's my concern. We don't know if they're all going to come.

The Chair: First of all, I don't have the motions in front of me.

Mr. Leon Benoit: They're the Minister of National Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, and the Chief of the Communications Security Establishment.

The Chair: Okay. The Minister of National Defence is going to be here on Thursday, October 4. The Chief of Defence Staff is going to be here on Tuesday, October 16. We don't have the individual from the Communications Security Establishment, but if you would like to bring that before the next steering committee meeting, we can consider it.

I think the general view of members of the steering committee was that we wanted to deal specifically, or focus on, the issue of counter-terrorism. The individual from the CSE is involved obviously in signals intelligence, which is part of the picture. But focusing on the issue of counter-terrorism was the general thrust of where members of the steering committee wanted to go.

Can we perhaps deal with that at the next steering committee meeting? You have two out of three.

Mr. Leon Benoit: It is at the will of the committee. I understand that proper notice hasn't been given to this committee; it was given to the last committee.

The Chair: Okay. So we'll take that up with the steering committee at the next meeting. It will be put in the hopper, as far as other possible witnesses are concerned.

We have a report of the steering committee here that members, I'm sure, will want to have a look at. As you can see, it contains a list of potential witnesses. I think it accurately reflects the general direction the steering committee was going when we met on September 20.

Do we have a motion to adopt this report? Mr. Stoffer.

Mr. Peter Stoffer: I don't see the name of the Deputy Minister of Defence.

The Chair: Actually, the deputy minister's name wasn't dealt with at the steering committee.

Mr. Peter Stoffer: It wasn't before it.

Mr. Leon Benoit: It did come up somewhere.

• 0910

Mr. Peter Stoffer: I think he'd be important to talk to.

The Chair: We can ask that he be available to come with the minister. If it's deemed necessary, again at the steering committee, we can look at having him as a separate witness at some point in the future.

So we have a motion to adopt the second report of the steering committee.

(Motion agreed to)

The Chair: Mr. O'Reilly.

Mr. John O'Reilly (Haliburton—Victoria—Brock, Lib.): I move that we adjourn.

(Motion agreed to)

The Chair: Thank you, members.