Marty Morantz on Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

With regard to the ad hoc committee of parliamentarians announced by the government on April 27, 2022, concerning certain documents related to the National Microbiology Laboratory: (a) what are the terms of reference for the committee; (b) what specific legal authorities, if any, does the committee exercise or operate under; (c) what roles, responsibilities, operations, tenure and obligations were provided to the committee; (d) what is the scope, objective and mandate of the committee; (e) by what instrument (e.g., order in council, contract, memorandum of understanding, exchange of letters) is the committee constituted; (f) when will the instrument, referred to in (e), be laid upon the table of the House; (g) who are the signatories to any agreement related to the establishment, constitution or appointment of the committee, broken down by agreement; (h) who are the members, and, if any, alternate members of the committee; (i) by whom and on what date or dates were the members (and alternate members, if any) of the committee nominated, and, if a separate process, appointed; (j) who is the Chair, and, if any, vice-chair of the committee; (k) by whom and on what date was the Chair (and vice-chair, if applicable) of the committee nominated, and, if a separate process, appointed; (l) what security clearances are the members (and alternate members, if any) of the committee required to possess and (i) did each member already possess it, (ii) what was the process required to establish it, (iii) on what date did each member acquire it; (m) does the Chair or vice-chair require a different or higher security clearance than the other members of the committee, and, if so, what are the details, referred to in (l), concerning it; (n) what are the dates and locations for committee meetings (i) which have occurred, (ii) are scheduled in the future; (o) under what rules does the committee operate; (p) are official records of the committee's meetings kept, and, if so, (i) who is responsible for keeping them, (ii) where are they kept or deposited; (q) how are the committee's decisions, advice and recommendations being captured or recorded; (r) are the committee's meetings recorded via (i) video, (ii) audio, (iii) written transcripts; (s) where are the recordings, referred to in (r), kept or deposited; (t) what are the record-keeping procedures for written submissions to the committee and committee correspondence, including where they are kept or deposited; (u) did the government request the use of any House of Commons resources, including clerks and support staff, to support the committee's work, and, if so, what are the terms of any such agreement, including the cost paid for these services; (v) did the government request the use of any Translation Bureau resources, including translators and interpreters, to support the committee's work, and, if so, what are the terms of any such agreement, including the cost paid for these services; (w) did the government request the use of any Library of Parliament resources, including analysts, to support the committee's work, and, if so, what are the terms of any such agreement, including the cost paid for these services; (x) has the government or the committee retained outside legal counsel to support the committee's work, and, if so, what are the terms of any such retainer, including who was retained and the cost paid for their services; (y) when is the committee's work anticipated to conclude; (z) how will the committee report its findings, including whether the government will table a report and the subject documents in the House; (aa) who are the jurists who will act as the arbiters for the committee, and how were they selected, including by whom they were nominated, and, if a separate process, appointed; (bb) how much are the arbiters being paid for their work with the committee; (cc) by what instrument (e.g., orders in council, contracts) are the arbiters appointed; (dd) when will the instruments, referred to in (cc), be laid upon the table of the House; (ee) does the committee have the mandate to consider documents other than the documents referred to in the orders of the House of Commons, adopted on June 2 and 17, 2021, and, if so, what are the details concerning those documents and mandate; (ff) does the committee have the power to order the production of documents, and, if so, under what legal authority does it have such power; (gg) does the committee have the power to summon witnesses, and, if so, under what legal authority does it have such power; and (hh) what renumeration is paid to the Chair, vice-chairs, if any, and other members of the committee?