Evidence of meeting #1 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Liberal
Arielle Kayabaga Liberal London West, ON
Concerning working meals, I move:
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.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Chris Bittle
Is there any debate on this? Do we have consent to proceed?
(Motion agreed to)
Liberal
Arielle Kayabaga Liberal London West, ON
Concerning travel, accommodation and living expenses of witnesses, I move:
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.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Chris Bittle
Is there any debate? Are we agreed?
You took your glasses off, and I was concerned, Mr. Calkins.
(Motion agreed to)
Please continue.
Liberal
Arielle Kayabaga Liberal London West, ON
Concerning access to in camera meetings, I move:
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.
Bloc
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Chair, we’re proposing an addition.
Madam Clerk, I believe that you already have the text ready for distribution.
I’ll read it to you.
That, during in camera meetings, Committee members may be informed by the Committee Chair of the MPs who have been designated as substitutes for permanent members, in order to know which MPs are authorized to speak and vote during Committee meetings. That only those who have been recognized and identified as such be authorized to speak, in keeping with the usual agreed rules of order and decorum.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
I just have one question. Will this prevent members who have other duties to attend to from being replaced by fellow members during a meeting?
Bloc
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
The wording doesn’t prevent this. The committee must be informed of the substitution so that we always know which members are authorized to speak in the committee.
We want to avoid situations where more members than expected attend a meeting and changes take place without our knowledge. Sometimes, members attend by video conference and others do so in person, and we don’t know which members are substitutes. When a substitution takes place, we want to be informed, particularly by the chair.
This doesn’t prevent a substitution from taking place during the meeting. We just need to be informed.
Conservative
Blaine Calkins Conservative Ponoka—Didsbury, AB
Could I get clarification from my colleague? Is the text she's offering replacing or in addition to the existing text?
Conservative
Blaine Calkins Conservative Ponoka—Didsbury, AB
Thank you.
I don't have a problem with it per se. I just don't recall the chair of the committee ever having trouble knowing who the substituted members were for the purposes of voting and being eligible to speak at the committee. If this is a problem that we're expecting to have to deal with, then I can certainly support it. I just don't know what the actual problem is.
Bloc
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
I can answer my colleague’s question.
This actually addresses a situation that we have already encountered. Multiple members logged in at the same time, and since the substitutes hadn’t been correctly identified, we didn’t know who was authorized to speak and vote. As a result, the number of members from one party exceeded the number of seats allocated to that party, and we didn’t know who was authorized to speak.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Ms. Normandin, could we ask the clerk to inform us of each substitution, or should the clerk ask the chair to make a brief announcement of the substitutions?
Bloc
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Our motion already states that the chair will inform us of any substitutions. That said, if we want the clerk to inform us directly, rather than notifying the chair, who then relays the information to us, I support this friendly amendment.
Conservative
Blaine Calkins Conservative Ponoka—Didsbury, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I wonder if you or the clerk could advise me of what the Standing Orders and the rules and procedures actually are. It's one thing to be able to vote at committee; I don't know if those rules are exactly the same for being able to speak or ask questions at the committee.
In the past, members of the House of Commons have been allowed to attend various committee meetings, even as independent members or members without official party status, in order to ask questions of witnesses. We've had agreements—I guess maybe unwritten agreements—to be allowed to do that. I'm seeking clarification on whether the rules about being able to question witnesses or take the floor are the same as the rules when it comes to being able to vote on a question put before the committee.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Chris Bittle
We will get you that information. Perhaps we can go to Madame Normandin first.
Bloc
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
I can make a clarification to shed light on my colleague’s analysis of our proposal.
This proposal applies only to in camera meetings, which are limited to a certain number of people. This also makes it easier to keep track of the number of people.
Our proposal doesn’t apply to regular meetings that aren’t in camera.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Chris Bittle
Would you like a couple of minutes to discuss this situation?
Mr. Cooper, go ahead.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to seek clarification on the scope of this amendment. Standing Order 119 provides that a member, if recognized by the chair, can speak at the committee even if they're not a member of the committee and would not be able to vote.
You indicated that this would apply to in camera meetings, but if we convened as a whole committee, for example, and a motion was moved to move in camera, would this amendment apply such that only members or official substitute members would be able to speak? That would seem to infringe upon Standing Order 119.