LANG Committee Meeting

The Standing Committee on Official Languages met at 11:02 a.m. this day, in Room 371 West Block, for the purpose of electing a Chair, pursuant to Standing Order 106(1).

On motion of Eugène Bellemare, it was agreed, — That the Honourable Don Boudria be elected Chair of the Committee.

Lynne Yelich moved, — That Rahim Jaffer be elected as Opposition Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Benoît Sauvageau moved, — That Yvon Godin be elected as Opposition Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(3), the election was conducted by secret ballot.

The ballots having been counted, Yvon Godin was declared duly elected as Opposition Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Bernard Patry, it was agreed, — That Raymond Simard be elected as Government Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Christian Jobin, it was agreed, — That the Committee retain the services of one or more analyst(s) from the Library of Parliament, as needed, to assist the Committee in its work, at the discretion of the Chair.

On motion of Yvon Godin, it was agreed, — That the Clerk be authorized to distribute only documents available in both official languages.

On motion of Benoît Sauvageau, it was agreed, — That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive and publish evidence when a quorum is not present provided that at least four (4) members are present including a member of the opposition.

On motion of Benoît Sauvageau, 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 be as follows: seven (7) minutes for each questioner of the first round in the following order: the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the Bloc Québécois, the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party, the Liberal Party; five (5) minutes for each questioner of the second round, alternating between Government and Opposition parties; five (5) minutes for each questioner of the third and subsequent rounds, in the order in which they are recognized and at the discretion of the Chair.

On motion of Benoît Sauvageau, it was agreed, — That unless it is decided otherwise by unanimous consent, when there is no quorum or “reduced quorum” (when a meeting is held for receiving evidence) fifteen (15) minutes after the scheduled commencement of a meeting, the said meeting may be canceled.

On motion of Benoît Sauvageau, it was agreed, — That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnessses not exceeding two (2) representatives per organization.

On motion of Yvon Godin, it was agreed, — That the Clerk be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide for working meals or refreshments for the Committee and its subcommittees (if applicable).

On motion of Christian Jobin, it was agreed, — That one (1) copy of the transcript of all in camera meetings be kept in the Committee Clerk’s office for consultation by members of the Committee.

On motion of Benoît Sauvageau, it was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to have one staff person present at in camera meetings.

On motion of Raymond Simard, it was agreed, — That the Commissioner of Official Languages, or anyone whom she may delegate, be present at the Committee's meetings in order to answer questions from Committee members when a witness appears.

On motion of Rahim Jaffer, it was agreed, — That, except for amendments to bills, or unless there is unanimous consent, a forty-eight (48) hours’ notice be given before any substantive motion is considered by the Committee.

By unanimous consent, on motion of Rahim Jaffer, it was agreed, — That whenever the Main Estimates or the Supplementary Estimates are referred to this Committee, the Committee invite the Minister and any relevant Senior Officials or the Commissioner of Official Languages to appear at a televised meeting, if possible.

By unanimous consent, on motion of Rahim Jaffer, it was agreed, — That whenever a Chapter of a Report of the Auditor General refers to a subject under the mandate of the Committee, the Committee invite the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and any relevant Senior Officials of a Department to appear at a televised meeting, if possible.

It was agreed, — That the next meeting consist of a briefing session offered by the analyst of the Committee (in camera) and another briefing session offered by the Commissioner of Official Languages (in public).

At 11:51 a.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.