I call this meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number two of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(4), this meeting was requested by four members of the committee to discuss their request to resume the committee’s consideration of the motion moved by Ms. Vecchio on Monday, September 28, 2020, regarding a study pursuant to Standing Order 32(7).
I'd like to start the meeting by providing you with some information following the motion that was adopted in the House on Wednesday, September 23, 2020.
The committee is now sitting in a hybrid format, meaning that members can participate either in person or by video conference. Witnesses must appear by video conference only. All members, regardless of their method of participation, will be counted for the purposes of quorum. The committee’s power to sit is, however, limited by the priority use of the House resources, which is determined by the whips. All questions must be decided by a recorded vote unless the committee disposes of them with unanimous consent or on division. Finally, the committee may deliberate in camera provided that it takes into account the potential risks to confidentiality inherent to such deliberations with remote participants.
Today’s proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website, with a reminder that the webcast will always show the person speaking rather than the entirety of the committee.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow.
For those participating virtually, members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting, and you have the choice, at the bottom of your screen, of either “floor” or “English” or “French”. I do advise that you choose the language of choice below, because we have seen in the past that there are volume issues with interpretation when you are on the floor language.
Before speaking, click on the microphone icon to activate your own mike. When you are done speaking, please put your mike on “mute” to minimize any interference. I have a reminder that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair. Should members need to request the floor outside of their designated time for questions, they should activate their mike and state that they have a point of order.
If a member wishes to intervene on a point of order that has been raised by another member, they should use the “raise hand” function. This will signal to the chair your interest in speaking and create a speakers list. In order to do so, you should click on the “participants” bar at the bottom of the screen. When the list pops up, you will see next to your name that you can click the “raise hand” function. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the use of headsets with a boom microphone is mandatory for everyone participating remotely. Should any technical challenges arise, please advise the chair.
Please note that we may need to suspend for a few moments, as we need to ensure that all members are able to participate fully. For those participating in person, proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is meeting in person in the committee room.
Should you wish to get my attention, signal me with a hand gesture or, at the appropriate time, call my name. Should you wish to raise a point of order, wait for an appropriate time to indicate to me clearly that you wish to raise a point of order. When you're waving your hand, I may not be able to see you on the screen. If you're there in person, you're sharing screen time with the clerk and the other members if they're in person, but Justin Vaive, our amazing clerk, will also do his best to keep a list going. We will confer with each other to try to keep the most appropriate order. With regard to a speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do our best to maintain that list.
As I mentioned at the start, we are meeting for consideration of the request by four members, pursuant to Standing Order 106(4), to resume consideration of Ms. Vecchio's motion. If any members wish to speak as to why we should resume the meeting, you can do so at this time by raising your hand in the “participants” section or by calling out, or by raising your hand physically if you are there in person.
Go ahead, Mr. Gerretsen.