Evidence of meeting #1 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
The Clerk of the Committee Ms. Miriam Burke
Good morning, everyone. I believe we have quorum.
I must inform members that the clerk of the committee can only receive motions for the election of the chair. The clerk cannot receive other types of motions and cannot entertain points of order nor participate in debate.
We can now proceed to the election of the chair. Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the chair must be a member of the official opposition. I am ready to receive motions for the position of chair.
Conservative
Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON
Madam Clerk, I'd like to move that Mr. Sweet be the committee chair.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Mr. Barrett that Mr. Sweet be elected as chair of the committee.
Are there any other motions?
Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
Thank you.
I declare the motion carried and Mr. Sweet duly elected chair of the committee.
I invite Mr. Sweet to take the chair.
Conservative
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Sweet
It's interesting to take the chair via video. Thank you very much, colleagues.
As long as you're in agreement, I invite the clerk to go ahead with the election of vice-chairs.
The Clerk
Thank you.
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the first vice-chair must be a member of the government party. I'm now prepared to receive motions for the first vice-chair.
Liberal
Francesco Sorbara Liberal Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON
Clerk, I would like to nominate member of Parliament Brenda Shanahan for vice-chair, please.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Mr. Sorbara that Ms. Shanahan be elected as first vice-chair of the committee.
Are there any further motions?
Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
I declare Ms. Shanahan duly elected first vice-chair of the committee.
Congratulations.
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the second vice-chair must be a member of an opposition party other than the official opposition.
I'm now prepared to receive motions for the election of the second vice-chair.
Ms. Shanahan, you have the floor.
Liberal
Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC
I nominate Marie-Hélène Gaudreau as second vice-chair.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Ms. Shanahan that Marie-Hélène Gaudreau be elected as second vice-chair of the committee.
Are there any further motions?
Liberal
The Clerk
Since more than one candidate has been nominated, pursuant to the House order of Wednesday, September 23, 2020, any motion received after the initial one shall be taken as notice of motion, and such motions shall be put to the committee seriatim until one is adopted.
The motion proposed by Ms. Shanahan that Ms. Gaudreau be elected as second vice-chair of the committee has been received as a motion. The motion proposed by Mr. Fergus that Mr. Angus be elected as second vice-chair of the committee has been received as a notice of motion.
Shall the committee adopt Ms. Shanahan's motion that Ms. Gaudreau be elected as second vice-chair?
Pursuant to the House order of Wednesday, September 23, 2020, I'll now proceed to a recorded division.
All those in favour that Madame Gaudreau be elected second vice-chair of the committee, please say yea when your name is called, and please say nay if you are not in favour of the motion.
(Motion agreed to: yeas 8; nays 2)
I declare the motion carried and Madame Gaudreau duly elected as second vice-chair of the committee.
I will now turn the meeting over to the chair.
Liberal
Han Dong Liberal Don Valley North, ON
On a point of order, Chair and Clerk.
It's just a small, routine thing.
I noticed that some of my staff didn't get the email. Could the clerk double-check the MP's staff contacts to make sure we all received the proper information?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Sweet
That's not a problem.
Please, especially for those who were on the committee previously, if the staff connection in your office is different, I'm certain the clerk would like to know that. That way we'll make sure that both you and your staff get the appropriate information when it's available.
Before I go through some ground rules, colleagues, let me thank you very much for your trust and confidence. I will do everything I can to make sure that, first off, as a collective, we serve Canadian citizens as well as the House of Commons. That's our mandate. As well, I will do everything I can to earn your trust. By doing that, I mean that I will try to make sure that every meeting is very orderly. I don't think any of us are cabinet ministers, so this is the one opportunity we get to actually assert our position and represent our constituents actively. I'm well aware of that. I've chaired two other committees in the past, both veterans affairs and industry. I will do everything I can to make sure your voice is heard, and heard fairly. You have been duly elected by your constituents and you've sworn an oath to the Queen. That is heavy on my mind as my responsibility to make sure you have the opportunity to assert your position and to be fair.
That said, let me go on to some housekeeping things. To ensure an orderly meeting, I'd like to outline a few rules to follow.
Interpretation in this video conference will work very much the way it does in a regular committee meeting. You have the choice, at the bottom of your screen, of “floor” or “English” or “French”. As you're speaking, if you plan to alternate from one language to the other, you'll also need to switch the interpretation channel so that it aligns with the language you're speaking. You may want to allow for a short pause when switching languages to make sure the transition is smooth. Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name.
Of course, colleagues, this is all new for us. Believe me, if I stumble a bit, don't take that as an affront. It's just that it will be different for me to navigate via video rather than live. However, I have to say that one of the challenges I always had as a chair when people were jumping in and out was their name. I can actually see all the names clearly now, so that is one advantage of a video conference that I really appreciate.
Colleagues, when you're ready to speak, you can click on your microphone icon to activate your mike. Just as a reminder, all comments by members should be addressed through the chair. If you need the clerk's help, please go through me as well. That way the clerk doesn't feel pulled to and fro or distracted when we're debating an issue and somebody is asking a question. That goes more to a live meeting, but I know that the clerk will appreciate that.
If a member wishes to intervene on a point of order that's been raised by another member, they should use the “raise hand” function, which I will have to learn myself. This will signal to the chair your interest to speak. In order to do so, you should click on “participants” at the bottom of the screen. When the list pops up, you'll see next to your name that you can click a raised hand. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. That's not only for all of us but also for interpretation.
The use of headsets is strongly encouraged. Should any technical challenges arise—for example, in relation to interpretation or a problem with audio—please advise the chair immediately and the technical team will work to resolve them. They're on the line with us right now. Please note that we may need to suspend during those times to ensure that all members are able to participate fully.
Before we get started, can everyone click on the screen in the top right-hand corner to ensure that you're on the gallery view? With this view, you should be able to see all participants in a grid view. It will ensure that all video participants can see one another.
If the committee wishes, we will now proceed to routine motions. Is it agreed that we will proceed to routine motions?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Sweet
Okay.
Colleagues, you should have in front of you a copy of the routine motions that the clerk sent out. I will go through them one at a time. As I said, if there are any interventions, I will do my best to make sure I'm treating everyone fairly as the electronic hands come up.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
I see that we have a number of hands that come up before the routine proceedings issue comes. I'm not sure if they have to do with routine proceedings, but if we have questions about routine proceedings, do we have to wait until all of those other hands are dealt with, or can we intervene specifically on the routine proceedings motion?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Sweet
Let me check first.
By the way, there's a little bit of delay because I'm getting texted the speakers list rather than having it passed to me as would normally be the case at committee. Now that I have it, let me see what these issues are about, Mr. Angus, and then we'll move forward on that.
Madame Gaudreau.
Bloc
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I know that we've done a good job since the start of the meeting. In terms of routine proceedings, I'll be moving a motion. I want to make sure that we'll have time to address it. I raised my hand so that, during this meeting, I can move a motion when the time comes to do so.
Conservative
Liberal
Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC
I don't know if it's a point of order but I just want to bring up an issue about the routine motions. Is it not a custom that a sitting member would read out the routine motions? If that is the case, I know that Mr. Fergus is prepared to do so.
