Procedure and House Affairs Committee on June 10th, 2025

[The Clerk of the Committee, Christine Holke]

Honourable members of the committee, I see a quorum.

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(3)(a), as the clerk of the committee, I will preside over the election of the chair and the vice‑chairs.

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, 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’m ready to receive motions for the chair.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm looking forward to this.

I would like to put a motion forward to elect Chris Bittle as our chair.

[The Clerk]

It has been moved by Mr. Louis that Mr. Bittle be elected chair of the committee.

Are there any further motions?

(Motion agreed to)

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

I invite Mr. Bittle to take the chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Thank you.

I'd like to thank the clerk for that seamless election.

To the members of the opposition, I'm just as surprised as you are that I'm here. Thank you so much, everyone.

Before we continue, I would like to ask all in-person participants to consult the guidelines written on the cards on the table. These measures are in place to help prevent audio feedback incidents and to protect the health and safety of all participants, including the interpreters.

You will also notice a QR code on the card, which links to a short awareness video.

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

[The Clerk]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the first vice-chair must be a member of the official opposition.

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

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Madam Clerk, I would like to nominate Michael Cooper.

[The Clerk]

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

Are there any further motions?

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried and Mr. Cooper duly elected first vice-chair of the committee.

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 ready to receive motions for the second vice‑chair.

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Sherbrooke, QC]

Madam Clerk, I would like to nominate Christine Normandin.

[The Clerk]

It has been moved by Mrs. Brière that Ms. Normandin be elected as second vice‑chair of the committee.

Are there any further motions?

(Motion agreed to)

[The Clerk]

I declare the motion carried and Ms. Normandin duly elected second vice‑chair of the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Thank you so much, everyone.

I want to congratulate the vice‑chairs.

Typically, we proceed to the routine motions of the committee.

Madam Kayabaga, if you'd like, go ahead.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to start by welcoming my colleagues. It's my first time on this committee, and I'm very excited to go through this learning experience.

Congratulations to you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to propose a routine motion, and I'm going to read it in, if that's okay with you, Mr. Chair. It reads, “That the three whips be delegated the authority to act—”

I'm sorry. Just a second. I think I have the older version. Let me just get the version that everybody else has. I think you might have received it by email. It reads:

That the three whips be delegated the authority to act as the striking committee pursuant to Standing Orders 104, 113 and 114, and that they be authorized to present to the Chair, in a report signed by all three whips, or their representatives, their unanimous recommendations on behalf of the committee for presentation to the House no later than 12 p.m. on Friday, June 13, 2025.

I think you do have the French version as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

We do.

Is there any debate on the motion?

Mr. Calkins, go ahead.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

I was expecting that we would deal with the regular predictable routine motions first, but we can start on page 7.

I'm wondering if my colleague across the way who moved the delegation of the authority of the whips would support an amendment that would add the following: “provided that the recommendations for the report referred to in paragraph (b) of the Order adopted by the House on Thursday, June 5, 2025, shall be presented to the Chair no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 12, 2025, and that the Chair shall be instructed to present the report to the House no later than Friday, June 13, 2025.”

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Mr. Calkins, do you have that written or in an electronic version that you can send to the clerk?

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Boy, I sure hope so.

Can we suspend briefly, Mr. Chair, while we get that to you?

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

I think that's an excellent idea; we'll suspend for five minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

I'll bring us back.

There have been some discussions. I'm not sure where we're at.

Mr. Calkins, perhaps you can read it in again, much more slowly, as I understand that there is not an electronic French version of this amendment.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Certainly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Once again, I will go slowly, so that simultaneous translation will be able to provide the French version as I read in English.

I move that the motion be amended by adding the following: “provided that the recommendations for the report referred to in paragraph (b) of the Order adopted by the House on Thursday, June 5, 2025, shall be presented to the Chair no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 12, 2025, and that the Chair shall be instructed to present the report to the House no later than Friday, June 13, 2025.”

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Is everyone clear on the motion?

I have Mr. Fergus—

I'm sorry, Mr. Calkins. Were you finished?

I apologize, Mr. Fergus.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

Well, I normally would appreciate an opportunity to speak to the proposed amendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

That's why I came back to you.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Ponoka—Didsbury, AB]

I think everybody understands what the amendment is attempting to do. I won't belabour the issue other than to say that this provides a bit of rigour on the timeline so that the committees of this House can be assembled and struck in a timeline that I think every member of this committee can support.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Go ahead, Mr. Fergus.

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Calkins. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him a number of times in other committees.

I have no issues with the content of his proposal. However, as a member from Quebec and a francophile, I must insist that the proposed motions be distributed in writing to everyone on the committee and be available in both official languages. This is a matter of courtesy to members, especially the members who aren’t fluent in the other official language. I can imagine that, if the situation were reversed, this would cause some controversy. This matters a great deal.

If everyone agrees to overlook the issue this time, I can live with that. However, please ensure that the documents are available in both official languages in the future.