General

… must not only be done, but be seen to be done.

Hey, remember when we had a Justice committee? You know, one that would hold regular meetings, albeit regular meetings that would regularly come to an abrupt halt within minutes as the chair stormed out of the room, muttering darkly about the tyranny of the majority?

Well, it’s back. Sort of. But don’t get your hopes up.


It may be on the schedule for this Wednesday, but not because of a sudden change of heart on the part of Runaway Chair Art Hanger; the opposition parties finally got around to submitting a 106(4) request for a meeting, specifically “to consider the motion moved by the member from Beauséjour on Tuesday, March 11, 2008″, otherwise known as The Motion That Broke Art Hanger’s Will to Wield His Gavel:

That, in order to determine whether Section 119 of the Criminal Code and Section 41 of the Parliament of Canada Act currently serve as effective deterrents in preventing attempts to bribe Members of Parliament, this Committee hold additional meetings specifically for the purpose of conducting an immediate study into allegations that Chuck Cadman was offered financial inducements in exchange for voting with the Conservatives in the House of Commons.

to

Under the Standing Orders, Hanger is required to call the meeting, but unfortunately for the opposition, he doesn’t actually have to be there, as far as I know, and I’m not sure if there’s any procedural tool, short of the pointy end of the Mace, that can force him to actually hold the vote. Also of note is the location: Wellington Building, which is like, the committee room equivalent of the restaurant you meet someone for drinks when you absolutely, positively don’t want to run into anyone you know. (The anti-Hy’s, as it were.) It won’t work, of course: ITQ will be there, if only to maintain our perfect attendance record. We’ll keep you posted if we hear anything else.

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