Evidence of meeting #1 for Subcommittee on International Human Rights in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
The Clerk of the Committee Ms. Erica Pereira
Members of the subcommittee, I see that now we have quorum, so I will go ahead and proceed with the election of the chair.
I must inform members that the clerk of the subcommittee can only receive motions for the election of the Chair.
We can proceed.
Pursuant to the motion adopted by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development on December 13, the chair must be a member of the government party.
Are there any motions for the position of chair?
I have Mr. Zuberi.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
Madam Clerk, I'd like to put forth a motion to have our colleague on this committee, Ali Ehsassi, be the chair for this subcommittee.
The Clerk
Thank you, Mr. Zuberi.
Are there any further motions?
Seeing no further motions, is it the pleasure of the subcommittee to adopt the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
Thank you. I declare that the motion has been carried and Mr. Ehsassi is duly elected as chair of the subcommittee.
Mr. Ehsassi, I will give you the floor for a moment, and I'm also sending you a quick email.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ali Ehsassi
Yes, absolutely. It's great to hear that you will be sending me an email, because I will look to you for guidance throughout this process.
I just want to thank all the members—especially Mr. Zuberi, the person who nominated me—and everyone else on this committee. I certainly look very much forward to working with each and every single member of this committee.
I have always been impressed by the work that this committee has undertaken and, for the most part, it has been collegial. I have no doubt that every member is passionate about a number of different issues, so I look forward to making sure that we can continue to work together to focus on issues that are of concern to all members of this committee.
Thank you.
The Clerk
Thank you, Mr. Ehsassi.
If you would like to seek the consent of the subcommittee, I could then proceed with the elections of the vice-chairs.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ali Ehsassi
Yes.
Do we have consent for the subcommittee to proceed with vice-chairs?
The Clerk
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll proceed.
I am now prepared to receive motions for the position of first vice-chair. Are there any motions to that effect?
I see a hand in the room. I believe it's Mr. Viersen's.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Thank you.
I would like to nominate Mr. John Williamson for first vice-chair.
The Clerk
Are there any other motions?
Is it the pleasure of the subcommittee to adopt the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
Thank you.
I declare the motion carried and Mr. Williamson duly elected first vice-chair.
I am now prepared to receive motions for the First Vice-Chair.
Mr. Zuberi, you have the floor.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
Madam Clerk, I would like to nominate Denis Trudel for second vice-chair.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Mr. Zuberi that Denis Trudel be elected as second vice-chair of the subcommittee.
Are there any other motions?
Is it the pleasure of the subcommittee to adopt the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
The Clerk
I declare the motion carried and Denis Trudel duly elected second vice-chair of the subcommittee.
Mr. Chair, I turn the meeting back to you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ali Ehsassi
Thank you very much.
I have not had a chance to look at your email yet, but as I understand it—and I've had some opportunity to speak to various members—there are a number of different issues that are of interest to the members as to what we should be focusing on.
That having been said, perhaps we should get that discussion going as to what those general issues are, even though, should members agree, perhaps we should give ourselves an opportunity after this committee to speak to each other and make sure that there is consensus and that we can accommodate as many of the members as possible to focus on the issues as they so desire.
Liberal
Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON
I think, as a point of order, Mr. Chair, we need to do the routine motions. It's a pretty important piece of work for us to get done before we can advance the committee's work.
Liberal
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Mr. Chair, I would be happy to put some routine motions forward at this time if you think that would be appropriate.
Liberal
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have a number of routine motions. I understand these have been agreed upon, so I will go through them one by one.
I would move, under “Analyst Services”:
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 it in its work.
Liberal
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Maybe, Mr. Chair, I will read them all, and if there's a problem with any of them—
Liberal
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Okay.
The next one is “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.
The next one is “Time for Opening Remarks and Questioning of Witnesses”:
That, at the discretion of the Chair, witnesses be given five minutes for their opening statement; that, at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated seven minutes for the first questioner of each party; and that thereafter five minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner in the following order: Liberal Party, Conservative Party, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party; and that wherever possible the witnesses provide their statement to the subcommittee 72 hours in advance.
The next one is “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.
Next is "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.]
Then there is “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; provided that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.
On “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—
Denis Trudel Bloc Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC
Mr. Chair, we've had an issue with interpretation from English to French for about 40 seconds now.
Liberal
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Do all parties have the routine motions in both languages?
I understood that everyone had these written in both languages.
I will slow down.
Bloc
Denis Trudel Bloc Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC
It doesn't matter, we need access to the interpretation. Maybe there is a sound issue or a problem with my headset. We can't hear the interpretation.