It was agreed, — That the routine motions adopted by the Committee on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, Wednesday, September 21, 2011, Wednesday, September 28, 2011 and Monday, October 3, 2011, be compiled, as follows:
• That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of a non-voting Chair, the two (2) Vice-Chairs, one (1) member of the other opposition party and one (1) member of the government party;
• That, in addition to the Chair and Vice-Chairs, Andrew Saxton and Guy Caron be appointed to the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure;
• 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;
• That, given that for at least eight (8) years this Committee has provided publication waivers for the printing of public accounts consistent with the following statement, the Committee hereby endorses the Comptroller General of Canada's request for publication waivers for the purposes of printing the Public Accounts of Canada, for payments of Claims against the Crown, Ex Gratia payments, and Court Awards related to:
Merchant Navy Veterans and Agent Orange;
Indian Residential School System;
Damages and losses in Afghanistan;
Payments made to inmates;
Instances where non disclosure is supported by confidentiality agreements;
Confidentiality issues which will be briefed to the Committee by officials of the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada; and
That this motion is agreed to with the understanding that the Committee may, at any time, request additional information related to these payments, including but not limited to holding hearings with officials, but by doing so while in camera so as to protect the privacy of the individuals named or involved;
• That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute to the members of the Committee only documents that are available in both official languages;
• That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the Committee and its Subcommittees;
• That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses, not exceeding two (2) representatives per organization; and that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair;
• That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one (1) staff person at an in camera meeting and that, in addition, each party may have in attendance one (1) representative;
• That one (1) copy of the transcript of each in camera meeting be kept in the Committee Clerk’s office for consultation by members of the Committee;
•That forty-eight (48) hours’ notice be required for any substantive motion to be considered by the Committee, unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration; and that the notice of motion be filed with the Clerk of the Committee and distributed to members in both official languages before consideration is given;
• That witnesses be given five (5) minutes to make their opening statement and if they have additional information, it should be deposited with the Clerk of the Committee; and
That during the questioning of witnesses, five (5) minutes be allocated to each questioner as follows: Conservatives, NDP, Conservatives, NDP, Conservatives, Liberal, Conservatives, NDP, Conservatives, Liberal, Conservatives, NDP, Conservatives;
• That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence printed when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four (4) members are present, including one (1) member of the opposition;
• That the Committee Chair and staff be authorized to:
- review Government responses to recommendations made by the Committee during the 41st Parliament;
- acknowledge by letter, on the Committee’s behalf, receipt of Government responses where they respond clearly and completely to recommendations or request further information or clarification, as required;
- monitor the implementation of Government commitments made in response to Committee recommendations, and request further information as required;
- report to the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure on these activities in a timely fashion;
• That, on all reports and news releases produced for the Committee by the Committee staff (excluding Library of Parliament research), a ‘Draft’ watermark be clearly displayed, in both official languages, on each page of the document until formally approved by the committee, and one of the following statements be clearly listed in the header and footer of the pages as the situation may warrant:
Not presented to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts – Contents are covered by Parliamentary Privilege
OR
Not approved by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts - Contents are covered by Parliamentary Privilege
OR
Approved by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts;
• That all departments and agencies of the federal government that have been subject to a performance audit by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada provide a detailed action plan to address the audit recommendations which have been agreed to - including specific actions, timelines for their completion and responsible individuals - to the Public Accounts Committee and the Office of the Auditor General of Canada within six months of the audit being tabled in the House of Commons; and that departments and agencies that are invited to appear before the Public Accounts Committee to discuss the findings of an audit should, when feasible, provide an action plan to the Committee prior to the hearing; and
That departmental action plans and progress reports received by the Committee be published on the Committee’s website.