Evidence of meeting #1 for Science and Research 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.
6:40 p.m.
Liberal
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
We didn't actually vote on it, but I think if you ask for unanimous consent, you will find it.
6:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kirsty Duncan
Do we have unanimous consent for the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
Thank you, Mr. McKinnon.
Can we invite the analyst to the front, please?
I think we should hear from both the clerk and the analyst briefly before we go to the second motion.
Welcome. Would you like to introduce yourselves?
6:40 p.m.
Thai Nguyen Committee Researcher
Dear committee members, my name is Thai Nguyen. I've been an analyst on the Hill since 2012, working mostly with the House fisheries committee, but also at times supporting the Senate committee too.
I'm looking forward to working with all of you.
6:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kirsty Duncan
Thank you so much for joining us. We thank you for the work.
Mr. Clerk, would you like to introduce yourself to the committee, please?
6:40 p.m.
The Clerk
Yes. Thank you.
My name is Leif Aune. It's a pleasure for me to be the clerk of your committee. I've been a procedural clerk since 2005 and have served some of you on various committees in the past. I'm looking forward to working with you this session.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
6:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kirsty Duncan
Thank you so much to both of you. We thank you in advance for the work you'll do.
I'd also like to say thank you to the interpreters, to all the technology folks and to everyone who is supporting this committee.
We had unanimous consent for the first motion.
Mr. McKinnon, can we go back to you, please?
6:40 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB
On a point of order, Madam Chair, can we maybe read all of the motions together as one and then just vote on them together? Would there be consent for that?
6:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kirsty Duncan
Thank you, Mr. Lake, for suggesting that.
Dear colleagues, is there unanimous consent to do that?
6:40 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
6:45 p.m.
Liberal
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Before I continue, I expect you all have copies of these. I just note there's a typo in the heading. It says 43rd Parliament, second session. It's incorrect.
We'll carry on with the routine motions.
This is the motion on the subcommittee on agenda and procedure. I move:
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of five members; the Chair, one member from each recognized party; and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration.
On meeting without a quorum, I move:
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.
On time for opening remarks and questioning of witnesses, I move:
That witnesses be given five minutes for their opening statement; that whenever possible, witnesses provide the committee with their opening statement 72 hours in advance; that at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six minutes for the first questioner of each party as follows for the first round: Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party. For the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows: Conservative Party, five minutes; Liberal Party, five minutes; Bloc Québécois, two and a half minutes; New Democratic Party, two and a half minutes; Conservative Party, five minutes; Liberal Party, five minutes.
On document distribution, I move:
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.
On 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.
On 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.
On 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.
On transcripts of in camera meetings, I move:
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; and that the analysts assigned to the committee also have access to the in camera transcripts.
On notice of motion, I move:
That a 48-hour notice, interpreted as two nights, be required for any substantive motion to be moved in committee, unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration, provided that: (a) the notice be filed with the clerk of the committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; (b) the motion be distributed to Members and the offices of the whips of each recognized party in both official languages by the clerk on the same day the said notice was transmitted if it was received no later than the deadline hour; (c) notices received after the deadline hour or on non-business days be deemed to have been received during the next business day; and that when the committee is holding meetings outside the Parliamentary Precinct, no substantive motion may be moved.
On orders of reference from the House respecting bills, I move:
That in relation to orders of reference from the House respecting Bills,
(a) The clerk of the committee shall, upon the committee receiving such an order of reference, write to each member who is not a member of a caucus represented on the committee to invite those members to file with the clerk of the committee, in both official languages, any amendments to the bill, which is the subject of the said Order, which they would suggest that the committee consider;
(b) Suggested amendments filed, pursuant to paragraph (a), at least 48 hours prior to the start of clause-by-clause consideration of the bill to which the amendments relate shall be deemed to be proposed during the said consideration, provided that the committee may, by motion, vary this deadline in respect of a given bill; and
(c) During the clause-by-clause consideration of a bill, the Chair shall allow a member who filed suggested amendments, pursuant to paragraph (a), an opportunity to make brief representations in support of them.
Regarding technical tests for witnesses, I move:
That the clerk inform each witness who is to appear before the committee that the House administration support team must conduct technical tests to check the connectivity and the equipment used to ensure the best possible sound quality; and that the Chair advise the committee, at the start of each meeting, of any witness who did not perform the required technical tests.
Lastly, on linguistic review, I move:
That all documents submitted for committee business that do not come from a federal department, members' offices, or that have not been translated by the Translation Bureau be sent for prior linguistic review by the Translation Bureau before being distributed to members.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
6:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kirsty Duncan
Thank you, Mr. McKinnon.
Is there any discussion on any of the motions?
Seeing no discussion, can we put this to a vote or is there unanimous consent?
(Motions agreed to)
Thank you, colleagues.
Mr. McKinnon, go ahead.
6:50 p.m.
Liberal
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'm just wondering if the clerk could clarify the masking policy for us in the room here.
6:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kirsty Duncan
Thank you, Mr. McKinnon.
Thank you, colleagues. I will give you the masking policy.
Welcome to the first meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research.
The Board of Internal Economy requires that committees adhere to the following health protocols: maintain a physical distance of at least two metres from others; wear a non-medical mask unless seated, and properly wear a mask at all times, including when seated; maintain proper hand hygiene by using the hand sanitizer provided in the committee room and regularly washing your hands well with soap. As the chair, I will enforce these measures, and I thank you for your co-operation.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format. As you know, interpretation services are available for this meeting. You may speak in the official language of your choice. At the bottom of your screen, you may choose to hear floor audio, English or French. The “raise hand” feature is on the main toolbar should you wish to speak.
I will remind you that all remarks should be addressed to the chair. When you are not speaking, your microphone should be muted. The committee clerk and I will maintain a speaking list for all members.
Thank you, Mr. McKinnon.
Dear colleagues, I believe there's unanimous agreement for all the motions and they were passed.
We have started this committee. Many congratulations to you all. We are up and running. Thank you very much.
We are now officially constituted. We have some time left if you want to discuss anything, and I will open it up to all of you.
Mr. McKinnon, go ahead.
6:50 p.m.
Liberal
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Thank you, Madam Chair, and congratulations on your election. No election signs were needed.
I think now that we have some time available, it would be nice to go around the room and find out what the expectations are for this committee going forward.
I know for myself, I would love for us to be able to investigate the state of the art in different areas of science, such as fusion technology, quantum computing, stem cell technology and it goes on and on. It would also be good to get a survey of where we need to put our scientific expertise in this country so that eventually we can make some recommendations to Parliament on how to proceed.
That would be my input at this point.
6:55 p.m.
Liberal
6:55 p.m.
Liberal
Stéphane Lauzon Liberal Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC
Thank you.
Congratulations, Madam Chair.
We are extremely privileged to sit on a new committee dedicated to research and development and high technology. My vision is to bring cutting-edge technologies to rural areas, advancements such as telecommunications R and D and technology, 5G infrastructure, intelligent transportation systems and the electrification of transportation. All of the research on green hydrogen also comes to mind in regard to the industry.
I plan to work hard on this committee to identify linkages between those elements and rural communities, so that they can fully benefit from our discussions. Moreover, I will be supporting any and all recommendations aimed at advancing robotics, the electrification of plants, methanization and cogeneration plants. I've worked in the field, so I hope we can make progress on those issues through our studies.
6:55 p.m.
Liberal
6:55 p.m.
Liberal
6:55 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
I'll put my hand up, and I'll be after Ms. Diab.
December 14th, 2021 / 6:55 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
I'm sorry. I was just confused about the term “go around the table”.
I have a background in science, so I'm excited to be here. I think we should be aware that this is the science and research committee. It would be fun to go off in all directions. I formerly sat, for the last six years, on the natural resources committee, so we did a lot of studies around energy and things like that.
I would like us to concentrate more on fundamental and applied sciences and how Canada can excel in those areas. I think it would be great to start off with a broad study to teach us all about where Canada does well. There are areas like fusion technology and hydrogen where we are world leaders. I think we could have a study that would look at those successes, but also look at the challenges where science could use some help from the government.
I would like to start off with a broader study like that. When I sat on natural resources, starting in 2015, we started out with a big study on everything. It was oil, gas, mining, forestry and nuclear. When we first started this, I thought it was crazy and that we should be studying more focused things. After it was done, I thought, wow, it was so important for me, and I think for everybody on the committee, to really get a grounding.
We're in a brand new committee. I think it would be really helpful for us, and our duty, to start off with a broader study like that, to look at where Canada is doing well and how we can move that forward, but also to see where science and research need some help in Canada, where the challenges are.
That's what I would say.
7 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kirsty Duncan
Thank you for your expertise, Mr. Cannings, and for sharing your experience.
I will put this to the committee. Are we going to Ms. Diab, or are we going around the table?
