It was agreed, — That the Chair be instructed to group witnesses by the broad themes of “Violence and its Root Causes,” “Frontline Assistance,” and “Preventing Violence Against Aboriginal Women;”
That, in accordance with the sub judice convention, invitations to appear be limited to individuals not currently under a judicial process or grievance;
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 the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and composed of the Chair, one (1) member of the New Democratic party, one (1) member of the Liberal party and two (2) members of the Conservative party, designated by the Whips of the respective parties;
That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings and to receive and publish evidence when a quorum is not present, provided that at least five (5) members are present, including one member of the opposition and one of the government;
That only the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute documents to the members of the Committee and only when the documents are available in both official languages, and that witnesses be advised accordingly;
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, living expenses including child care and support services as determined appropriate by the Subcommittee, 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 staff person at an in camera meeting and, in addition, each party shall be permitted to have one staff member attend in camera meetings;
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 and their staff;
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 e-mailed to the Clerk of the Committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; (b) that the notice be distributed by e-mail to members in both official languages by the Clerk of the Committee on the same day the said notice was transmitted if it was received no later than the deadline hour; (c) that notices received after the deadline hour be deemed to have been received during the next business day; and (d) that 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;
That witnesses shall be allowed up to ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement. During the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated seven (7) minutes for the first round of questioning, five (5) minutes for the second round, and that subsequent rounds of questioning be at the discretion of the Chair;
That the order of questions for the first round of questioning shall be as follows: NDP, Conservative, Liberal, Conservative. Questioning during the second round shall alternate between the government members and opposition members in the following fashion: NDP, Conservative, NDP, Conservative, NDP, Conservative, Conservative, based on the principle that each committee member should have a full opportunity to question the witnesses; and if time permits, further rounds shall repeat the pattern of the first two at the discretion of the chair.