Finance Committee on Dec. 6th, 2021

[The Clerk of the Committee, Mr. Alexandre Roger]

Honourable members, I see a quorum.

I must inform the members that the clerk of the committee can only receive motions for the election of the chair. The clerk cannot receive any other type of motion and cannot entertain points of order or 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 government party.

I am ready to receive motions for the chair.

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

I'd like to nominate Peter Fonseca as chair.

[The Clerk]

It has been moved by Mr. Baker that Mr. Fonseca be elected as chair of the committee.

Are there any further motions?

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried and Mr. Fonseca duly elected chair of the committee.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Clerk]

Mr. Fonseca, you can come to the head of the table.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Let me first take a moment, Mr. Clerk, to thank my colleagues.

Thanks for your support. It's wonderful to be here. I know that this is a very important committee on the Hill. Some have sat on this committee in the past—some “veterans”, I'll call them. I know that Julie and Pierre sometimes in the past, and of course Gabriel, have been on the committee. We have the critics from all three parties. I don't know if I'm missing anybody.

It is really an honour to be able to preside over this committee. Thank you very much, everybody, for your support. I look forward to the work we will be doing here on behalf of Canada and Canadians.

Go ahead, Ms. Dzerowicz.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Chair, congratulations.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

I want to know whether we are ready to discuss and go through routine motions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Yes, Ms. Dzerowicz. I just have to go through some notes that the clerk has provided to me. I'll commence with them, and then I will bring you in.

If the committee is in agreement, I will invite the clerk to proceed with the election of the vice-chairs.

We will go to the vice-chairs right now, Ms. Dzerowicz, and then we will get to routine motions.

[The Clerk]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. First—

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

With your permission, Mr. Chair, I would like to nominate Greg McLean as vice-chair.

[The Clerk]

It has been moved by Mr. Poilievre that Mr. McLean be elected first vice-chair of the committee.

Are there any other motions?

(Motion agreed to)

I declare Mr. McLean duly elected as first vice-chair of the committee.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Clerk]

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the second vice-chair must be a member of the opposition party other than that of the official opposition.

I am now prepared to receive motions for the second vice-chair.

Go ahead, Madame Chatel.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and congratulations on your election.

I would like to nominate as second vice-chair Monsieur Gabriel Ste-Marie.

[The Clerk]

It has been moved by Mrs. Chatel that Mr. Ste‑Marie be elected as second vice‑chair of the committee.

Are there any further motions?

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried and Mr. Ste-Marie duly elected as second vice-chair of the committee.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you very much, Clerk. Congratulations to our vice-chairs. We also have our parliamentary secretary, as Terry Beech is also a member of the committee.

Welcome to meeting number one of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of November 25, 2021. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. For your awareness, the webcast will always show the person speaking rather than the entire committee.

Today's meeting is also taking place using the webinar format. Webinars are for public committee meetings and are available only to members, their staff, and witnesses.

Members enter immediately as active participants. All functionalities for active participants remain the same. Staff will be non-active participants and can therefore only view the meeting in gallery view.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind all participants at this meeting that taking screenshots or photos of your screen is not permitted.

Given the ongoing pandemic situation, in light of the recommendations from health authorities as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy on October 19, 2021, to remain healthy and safe, all those attending the meeting in person are to maintain two-metre physical distancing and must wear a non-medical mask when circulating in the room. It is highly recommended that the mask be worn at all times, including when members are seated. Members must maintain proper hand hygiene by using the provided hand sanitizer at the room entrance.

As the chair, I will enforce these measures for the duration of the meeting. I thank members in advance for their co-operation.

To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow.

One, for members participating on Zoom, you may speak in the official language of your choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of either “floor”, “English” or “French”. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately, and I will ensure that interpretation is promptly restored before resuming the proceedings. The “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen can be used at any time if you wish to speak or to alert the chair.

Number two, members participating in person may proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is meeting in person in the committee room. Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on Zoom, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. For the members in the room, your microphone will be controlled, as usual, by the proceedings and verification officer.

When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you are not speaking, please ensure that your microphone is on mute.

I remind everyone that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair.

Regarding the speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do the best we can to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members, whether they are participating virtually or in person.

I would now suggest that for the next order of business, the committee proceed to consideration of routine motions. In preparation for this, the committee clerk has circulated a list of routine motions that the committee adopted in the last parliamentary session. The committee clerk can also answer any questions that you may have about the routine motions.

I'm going to recognize Ms. Dzerowicz.

Oh, I apologize; I did see Mr. Beech's hand go up. Go ahead, Mr. Beech.

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Burnaby North—Seymour, BC]

I'm sorry. I got excited. I have a motion, but I can't do it without routine motions. If you could just add my name to that list for whenever the appropriate time is, I'd like to be on that list. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

We'll recognize you as soon as we're done with the routine motions. Thank you.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

I will read into the record the routine motions.

The first one is as follows:

That the committee retain, as needed and at the discretion of the Chair, the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist in its work.

Do we need to vote on each one or do we vote at the very end, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

It's the committee's choice, the clerk says. I guess I will look for agreement from everybody. Could I just see a nodding of heads? Yes, it looks as though we're good.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

I'll continue reading the motions.

Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure

That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of five (5) members; the Chair, one member from each recognized party; and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration.

Meeting Without a Quorum

That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence published when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four members are present, including two members of the opposition parties and two members of the government party, but when travelling outside the Parliamentary Precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.

Time for Opening Remarks and Questioning of Witnesses

That witnesses be given five minutes for their opening statement; that whenever possible, witnesses provide the committee with their opening statement 72 hours in advance; that at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six minutes for the first questioner of each party as follows for the first round:

Conservative Party

Liberal Party

Bloc Québécois

New Democratic Party

For the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows:

Conservative Party, five minutes

Liberal Party, five minutes

Bloc Québécois, two and a half minutes

New Democratic Party, two and a half minutes

Conservative Party, five minutes

Liberal Party, five minutes.

Document Distribution

That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the Committee provided the documents are in both official languages, and that the witnesses be advised accordingly.

Working Meals

That the clerk of the committee, at the discretion of the Chair, be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and its subcommittees.

Travel, Accommodation and Living Expenses of Witnesses

That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses not exceeding two representatives per organization; and that in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.

Access to In Camera Meetings

That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff member at in camera meetings and that one additional person from each House officer's office be allowed to be present.

Transcripts of In Camera Meetings

That one copy of the transcript of each in camera meeting be kept in the committee clerk's office for consultation by members of the committee or by their staff; and that the analysts assigned to the committee also have access to the in camera transcripts.

Notice of Motion

That a 48-hour notice, interpreted as two nights, be required for any substantive motion to be moved in committee, unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration, provided that: (a) the notice be filed with the clerk of the committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; (b) the motion be distributed to Members and the offices of the whips of each recognized party in both official languages by the clerk on the same day the said notice was transmitted if it was received no later than the deadline hour; (c) notices received after the deadline hour or on non-business days be deemed to have been received during the next business day; and that when the committee is holding meetings outside the Parliamentary Precinct, no substantive motion may be moved.

Orders of Reference from the House Respecting Bills

That in relation to orders of reference from the House respecting Bills,

(a) The clerk of the committee shall, upon the committee receiving such an order of reference, write to each member who is not a member of a caucus represented on the committee to invite those members to file with the clerk of the committee, in both official languages, any amendments to the bill, which is the subject of the said Order, which they would suggest that the committee consider;

(b) Suggested amendments filed, pursuant to paragraph (a), at least 48 hours prior to the start of clause-by-clause consideration of the bill to which the amendments relate shall be deemed to be proposed during the said consideration, provided that the committee may, by motion, vary this deadline in respect of a given bill; and

(c) During the clause-by-clause consideration of a bill, the Chair shall allow a member who filed suggested amendments, pursuant to paragraph (a), an opportunity to make brief representations in support of them.

Technical tests for witnesses

That the clerk inform each witness who is to appear before the committee that the House administration support team must conduct technical tests to check the connectivity and the equipment used to ensure the best possible sound quality; and that the Chair advise the committee, at the start of each meeting, of any witness who did not perform the required technical tests.

Linguistic Review

That all documents submitted for committee business that do not come from a federal department, members' offices, or that have not been translated by the Translation Bureau be sent for prior linguistic review by the Translation Bureau before being distributed by members.

That completes the routine motions, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you, Ms. Dzerowicz.

I think we are all in favour. I saw everybody nodding favourably. Am I right?

(Motions agreed to)

Great. We are done with those routine motions, Clerk.

I believe Mr. Beech wanted the floor.