On motion of Francis Drouin, it was agreed, — That Pat Finnigan be elected Chair of the Committee.

At 3:50 p.m., Pat Finnigan took the Chair.

On motion of Francis Drouin, it was agreed, — That Bev Shipley be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Bev Shipley, it was agreed, — That Ruth Ellen Brosseau be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

At 3:53 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 3:55 p.m., the sitting resumed.

At 3:56 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 4:03 p.m., the sitting resumed.

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, it was agreed, — 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.

On motion of Chris Warkentin, it was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of the Chair, one (1) member from the Conservative Party, one (1) member from the New Democratic Party and two (2) members from the Liberal Party.

On motion of Chris Warkentin, it was agreed, — 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 (4) members are present, including one (1) member of the opposition and one (1) member of the government.

On motion of Chris Warkentin, it was agreed, — That only the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the Committee and only when such documents exist in both official languages, and that witnesses be advised accordingly.

On motion of Chris Warkentin, it was agreed, — That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the Committee and its Subcommittees.

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, it was agreed, — 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.

On motion of Bev Shipley, it was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one (1) staff person at an in camera meeting and that each party be allowed one (1) additional staff person at such meetings.

On motion of Chris Warkentin, it was agreed, — 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.

On motion of Pierre Breton, it was agreed, — That a notice of 48 hours, interpreted as two nights, be required before a member may move a substantive motion, unless it deals directly with the matter before the Committee at this time, provided that:

(a) this notice be emailed to the Committee Clerk no later than 4: 00 p.m. from Monday to Friday;

(b) the notice be distributed by e-mail to members 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 be deemed to have been received during the next business day; and

(d) this rule does not prevent a member from giving notice of a motion orally during a meeting of the Committee, in which case notice shall be deemed to have been given before the deadline that day.

On motion of Chris Warkentin, it was agreed, — That witnesses be given ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement; that, during the questioning of witnesses, six (6) minutes be allocated to each party in the first round in the following order: Conservative Party, Liberal Party, New Democratic Party and Liberal Party; and that for the second round of questioning, the time be allocated as follows: Liberal Party six (6) minutes, Conservative Party six (6) minutes, Liberal Party six (6) minutes, Conservative Party five (5) minutes and New Democratic Party three (3) minutes.