Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 4th, 2016

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

I want extra minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Now Dean wants 10 extra minutes.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Just one is all right.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Just one.

I don't have any problems with it personally as the chair, and if my colleagues don't have any problems with it, then we'll make the small amendment and we'll move on.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

We can vote on it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Yes.

(Motion negatived)

The next motion is on working meals:

That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the Committee and its Subcommittees.

(Motion agreed to)

The next is on witnesses' expenses:

That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses not exceeding two (2) representatives per organization; provided that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.

(Motion agreed to)

This next motion deals with staff at in camera meetings:

That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to have one staff at an in camera meeting and that one additional person from each party be allowed to be present.

I guess that was the standard motion last time. I don't see any problem with that.

(Motion agreed to)

Next is on 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.

It's a standard motion.

(Motion agreed to)

Next is on notice of motions:

That forty-eight (48) hours' notice be required for any substantive motion to be considered by the Committee, unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration; and that the notice of motion be filed with the Clerk of the Committee and distributed to members in both official languages; That, for motions requiring forty-eight (48) hours' notice, the Chair be authorized to defer consideration until fifteen (15) minutes prior to the adjournment time for the meeting as indicated in the notice of meeting and that these motions be received no later than 4:00 p.m.

That sounds reasonable.

(Motion agreed to)

Next is on gifts:

That the Committee be authorized to purchase gifts to be presented to foreign hosts and visiting delegations.

(Motion agreed to)

Next is on purchase of documents:

That the Committee be authorized to purchase documents for the use of the Committee.

This is another standard process.

(Motion agreed to)

The next one is on the subcommittee:

That, pursuant to Standing Orders 108(1) and 108(2), a Subcommittee on International Human Rights be chaired by a member elected by the Subcommittee, and be established to inquire into matters relating to the promotion of respect for international human rights, as may be referred to it by the Committee; That the Subcommittee be composed of seven (7) members or associate members of which four (4) shall be government members, two (2) shall be from the Conservative Party, and one (1) from the New Democratic Party, to be named following the usual consultations with the Whips; That the Subcommittee be empowered to send for persons, papers, and records, to receive evidence, to sit during a time when the Committee is not sitting in Ottawa, to sit when the Committee is sitting outside the Parliamentary Precinct and to sit during periods when the House stands adjourned; and That the Chair of the Subcommittee meet with the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Committee at their mutual discretion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Peter.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, should we specify that one of the government four should be designated chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

I would suspect so.

Just to reflect the change to the second paragraph, “That the Subcommittee be chaired by a government member; That the membership be composed of seven (7) members or associate members of which four (4) shall be government members, two (2) shall be from the Conservative Party, and one (1) shall be from the New Democratic Party, to be named following the usual consultations with the Whips”.

All those in favour?

(Motion agreed to)

Those are all the procedural motions.

Before we adjourn, I think we should have a discussion about process down the road, and I'll hear from all the members about where they want to take this.

I wanted to make a few suggestions for all the members of the committee. The first would be to invite the officials to start to brief us as a committee. I think that's standard procedure. I also think it's a good idea for new members to have people from Global Affairs and international affairs come and talk to us, to get a sense of what the issues were in the previous Parliament, and of course, the issues of the day. That would be our agenda going forward, but obviously, we'd like to have a meeting of the subcommittee on agenda and procedure before that. I thought I would throw that into the discussion so we could invite them sooner rather than later, because I understand it takes a little while to get people to come to the committee.

Hélène.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

I'm sorry. I hope my timing is not too far off again.

I would like to know whether I could file notices of motion before today's meeting is adjourned. I'm not talking about discussing the motions, of course. I just wanted to file them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

I would prefer we didn't start off that way.

What I'd like to do is have a good discussion with the committee about the work ahead. There will be plenty of time for notices of motion and the like. I don't necessarily think it makes much sense to start that process, but I can't stop the committee members from moving a notice of motion. It's perfectly legitimate for anyone to do that at this stage.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

So, could I read the two notices of motion I have before me? We could discuss them at a later date.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Yes, you can.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I have two notices of motion I would like to....

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Before we start, do we have copies of these motions for the members?

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Just so the committee is aware, these are notices of motion. An NDP member will read them out, and they will be tabled. Then we'll go to further discussion on committee business.

Hélène, go ahead.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I would like to give notice of the following motion: That, pursuant to standing orders 108(1) and 108(2), a Subcommittee on Arms Control to be chaired by a member elected by the Subcommittee, be established to inquire into matters relating to Canadian arms exports and arms export permits; that the Subcommittee be composed of seven (7) members or associate members of which four (4) shall be government members, two (2) shall be Conservative Party members, and one (1) from the New Democratic Party, to be named following the usual consultations with the Whips; that the Subcommittee be empowered to send for persons, papers and records, to receive evidence, to sit during a time when the Committee is not sitting in Ottawa, to sit when the Committee is sitting outside the Parliamentary Precinct and to sit during periods when the House stands adjourned; and that the Chair of the Subcommittee meet with the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Committee at their mutual discretion.

I also want to give notice of the following motion: That, pursuant to standing order 108(2), the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development undertake a study on Women, Peace and Security; including an examination of the efforts of the Government of Canada to implement and support the United Nations Security Council Resolutions on women, peace and security (including resolutions 1325 and 1889 on the participation of women in peace processes; resolutions 1820, 1888 and 1960 on sexual violence in conflict; and resolution 2122 on women's leadership in conflict resolution and peacebuilding); and report its findings back to the House.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Thank you. It is noted that these notices of motion have been submitted to the committee.

Before that, I think, Garnett, you wanted to speak to some other matter.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Yes, I did, Mr. Chair.

I'm the vice-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet. The foreign minister from Tibet is going to be here in Ottawa in various meetings on Parliament Hill on February 16, which is the scheduled date of our next committee.

I know this is moving rather quickly, and the chair may be able to tell me whether this requires a simple majority or unanimous consent to move forward on, but I think it would be very worthwhile if the committee were to take advantage of the opportunity and try to schedule a visit to this committee by the minister from the Tibetan government in exile. It would give us an opportunity to ask some important questions about that government and about the upcoming election in March for the Tibetan government in exile. It would also give us an opportunity to explore some broader questions about human rights issues in the region.

As much as it might be nice to have a bit more time to fit this into a broader study, because the minister is going to be here on February 16, we probably need to decide today if we're going to do it or not in order to make it happen.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

You've put the chair in a pretty difficult spot. On the one hand, we've just spoken to the process and procedure of giving notice, and you're basically coming forward without notice and asking the committee to make a decision.

Unless we decide as a committee to change our process, I'll have to rule that as not admissible and not debatable, simply because you're not giving us notice and/or giving us written notice. That's the procedure we have decided to follow. Until we have had the chance to sit down and talk about these things as a committee as a whole, I think we'll have to leave it at that.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Could I have the opportunity to ask the committee, then, for unanimous consent? If we have unanimous consent, my understanding is that we can move forward in spite of those rules. Right?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

I don't think so, but I'm at the disposal of the committee.

Does anyone want to speak to this request, colleagues? No?

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Chairman, I'm a bit confused, because you said it's up to the committee, if I understand that correctly.

Can I ask if there is agreement by the committee to move forward to do this?

If anyone objects, then we won't do it, but if there is a consensus that this is something worth doing, then let's seize the moment and do it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Before we go down that road, Garnett, you're basically asking for a motion to move beyond the rules of procedure that we've agreed to and to allow the committee, which is their right, to approve your request to have the ambassador come to this committee.

Which date are you proposing?