On motion of Steven Blaney, it was agreed, — That Tom Lukiwski be elected Chair of the Committee.

Tom Lukiwski took the Chair.

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

On motion of David de Burgh Graham, it was agreed, — That Erin Weir be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Yasmin Ratansi, it was agreed, — That the Committee retain the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work.

On motion of Erin Weir, it was agreed, — That witnesses be given ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement; and that during the questioning of witnesses the time allocated to each questioner be as follows: for the first round of questioning, seven (7) minutes to a representative of each party in the following order: Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Liberal; for the second round, five (5) minutes be allocated in the following order: Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Liberal; followed by NDP, three (3) minutes.

On motion of Yasmin Ratansi, it was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of the Chair, the two Vice Chairs, and one government member.

On motion of Yasmin Ratansi, it was agreed, — 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 three (3) members are present, including one member from the government.

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

On motion of Yasmin Ratansi, 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 Yasmin Ratansi, 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 Yasmin Ratansi, it was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to have one staff member present from their office or from their party at in camera meetings.

On motion of Yasmin Ratansi, 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 one of their staff members.

On motion of Yasmin Ratansi, 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; that (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; that (c) notices received after the deadline hour be deemed to have been received during the next business day; and that (d) this rule does not prevent a member to give 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.