FOPO Committee Meeting

The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans met at 11:05 a.m. this day, in Room 253-D, Centre Block, for the purpose of electing a Chair, pursuant to Standing Order 106(1).

On motion of Lawrence MacAulay, it was agreed, — That Rodney Weston be elected Chair of the Committee.

By unanimous consent, the Clerk of the Committee presided over the election of the Vice-Chairs.

On motion of Lawrence MacAulay, it was agreed, — That Fin Donnelly be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Fin Donnelly, it was agreed, — That Lawrence MacAulay be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

At 11:15 a.m., Rodney Weston took the Chair.

On motion of Maurice Vellacott, 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 Randy Kamp, it was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of the Chair, the two Vice-Chairs and the parliamentary secretary and a member of the government party.

On motion of Maurice Vellacott, 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 government member and one opposition member.

On motion of Bryan Hayes, it was agreed, — That 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.

On motion of Lawrence MacAulay, 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 Patricia Davidson, 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 Lawrence MacAulay, it was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff person at an in camera meeting and in addition each party shall be permitted to have one party staff member attend in camera meetings.

On motion of Fin Donnelly, 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.

On motion of Fin Donnelly, it was agreed, — That 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 by 5:00 p.m. to members in both official languages.

Mike Allen moved, — That witnesses from any one organization shall be allowed ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement. During the questioning of witnesses, there shall be allocated seven (7) minutes for the 1st round of questioning and thereafter five (5) minutes shall be allocated to each questioner in the 2nd and subsequent rounds of questioning; and that the order of questions for the 1^st round of questioning shall be as follows: Conservative Party, New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Party. Questioning during the 2^nd round shall alternate between the Government members and Opposition members in the following fashion: NDP, Conservative Party, New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Conservative Party; based on the principle that each committee member should have a full opportunity to question the witness (es). If time permits, further rounds shall repeat the pattern of the first two at the discretion of the chair.

Debate arose thereon.

Fin Donnelly moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing words “During the questioning of witnesses, there shall be allocated seven (7) minutes for the 1st round of questioning and thereafter five (5) minutes shall be allocated to each questioner in the 2nd and subsequent rounds of questioning“ with the words “For the first round of questioning, ten (10) minutes to a representative of each party in the following order: Conservative, Conservative, New Democratic Party and seven (7) minutes for Liberal; and that the following rounds be as follows: six (6) minutes for the Conservative and New Democratic Party and four (4) minutes for the Liberal”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Fin Donnelly and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 3; NAYS: 6.

Lawrence MacAulay moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Conservative Party” with the words “New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Party, New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Conservative Party”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Lawrence MacAulay and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 6; NAYS: 3.

The question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 6; NAYS: 4.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That witnesses from any one organization shall be allowed ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement. During the questioning of witnesses, there shall be allocated seven (7) minutes for the 1st round of questioning and thereafter five (5) minutes shall be allocated to each questioner in the 2nd and subsequent rounds of questioning; and that the order of questions for the 1^st round of questioning shall be as follows: Conservative Party, New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Party. Questioning during the 2^nd round shall alternate between the Government members and Opposition members in the following fashion: New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Party, New Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Conservative Party; based on the principle that each committee member should have a full opportunity to question the witness (es). If time permits, further rounds shall repeat the pattern of the first two at the discretion of the chair.

At 12:21 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.