Committee procedure includes all of the
rules and practices governing the proceedings of parliamentary committees. The
primary sources are the Constitution and Acts of Parliament; orders of
reference, instructions and Standing Orders of the House of Commons; rulings
by the Speaker of the House and committee Chairs; and, finally, practice.
The Constitution does not make specific
reference to House of Commons committees, but it does contain a number of
provisions that provide a basis for or have a bearing on committee proceedings.
One section of the Constitution Act, 1867 authorizes the Parliament of
Canada to define the privileges, immunities and powers it exercises.[505]
Those privileges give the House the power to conduct inquiries, summon
witnesses to appear and order the production of documents. The House delegates
those powers to the parliamentary committees it creates. The Constitution also
states that any resolution or bill for the appropriation of public revenue must
first be recommended by the Crown.[506]
This requirement has a significant impact on the form of motions likely to be admissible
in committees. Finally, the Constitution Act, 1982 establishes the
obligations of Parliament and, by extension, parliamentary committees regarding
bilinguism.[507]
The Act specifically states that everyone has the right to use English or
French in any debates and other proceedings of Parliament.
The Parliament of Canada Act is
central to the power of committees to obtain pertinent and truthful testimony.
The opening provisions of the Act form the legal basis for immunity from
prosecution for comments made in the context of a parliamentary committee, the
power of committees to administer oaths and receive solemn declarations, and
the punishment that may be imposed on witnesses for perjury. The Act also
states that the persons authorized to administer oaths and receive solemn
declarations include Chairs of parliamentary committees and the Speaker of the
House;[508]
the Speaker may delegate that power to committee clerks. Finally, the Act
contains a provision that prohibits Senators and Members from receiving
compensation in relation to any matter before a committee of the House.[509]
Other statutes enacted by Parliament
establish certain roles for parliamentary committees pertaining to the
consideration of bills, or parts of bills, or the approval or rejection of
regulations made under Acts.[510]
Orders of reference and instructions issued
by the House to parliamentary committees are a vital source of procedural rules
for committees. They provide a framework for committee proceedings. Orders of
reference can be adopted for a specific purpose—in which case they are recorded
in the Journals—or consolidated in the Standing Orders.
The Standing Orders are the most important
body of written rules governing committee proceedings. Chapter XIII of the
Standing Orders deals specifically with committees. It covers the powers,
mandates and membership of committees, quorum, the methods of designating Chairs
and Vice-Chairs, staff and budgets.[511]
However, the provisions of Chapter XIII are not the only ones that pertain to
committees. Many other chapters of the Standing Orders contain provisions that
directly or indirectly affect committee proceedings. For example, Chapter X
(Financial Procedures) deals with the referral of the main and supplementary
estimates to standing committees.[512]
The Standing Orders also state that
standing, special and legislative committees must comply with the Standing
Orders of the House so far as may be applicable.[513]
In areas where the Standing Orders do not apply or cannot be applied,
committees are free to define and adopt rules governing their proceedings. Such
rules may be adopted to deal with situations of a temporary nature.[514]
They may also govern specific aspects of a committee’s proceedings in a given
parliamentary session, in which case they are referred to as “routine motions”.[515]
The Speaker of the House is regularly asked
to rule on the procedural admissibility of matters before the House. Rulings
from the Speaker constitute precedents for future Speakers of the House. The
matter before the House may pertain to the proceedings of one or more
committees. If the Speaker rules on a matter of that nature, the committees
affected will be required to comply with any provisos in the ruling.[516]
This rarely happens in practice, since the Speaker is reluctant to intervene in
a committee’s internal affairs unless the committee has previously reported on
the matter to the House.[517]
As with the Speaker of the House, the Chair
of a committee may be asked to rule on the procedural admissibility of a matter
before the committee. Such rulings, which are sources of procedure, provide
guidance in similar situations that may be encountered by the committee in the
future. However, unlike rulings by the Speaker of the House, rulings by the Chair
can be overturned by the committee and do not constitute precedents for future Chairs
of the committee or the Chairs of other parliamentary committees.
Committee practice is the body of unwritten
rules governing committee proceedings. It consists of procedures that have
developed over time and are viewed as standard operating practice.[518]
For example, while there is no Standing Order to that effect, the normal
practice is to have government Members sit to the right of a committee Chair
and opposition Members sit to the left.
In the absence of written rules, a
committee can refer to practice when the members are uncertain as to how to
proceed on a particular issue. Practice may also be used as a factor to be
taken into consideration by a committee Chair who is required to make a ruling.
The starting point in these circumstances is to examine how the committee
proceeded in the past. If the analysis must be carried further, the committee
can then examine the practice of other committees of the House and the practice
of the House itself, if it can be applied to the committee’s proceedings.
During their proceedings, committees follow
established practice. By decision of the majority of their members, they can,
however, deviate from or adapt practice depending on their needs. If a
situation guided by practice arises frequently and becomes a source of concern
and interest for the members of a committee, the committee can decide to adopt
a written rule to deal with the situation, which would have to be observed.
The idea that committees are “masters of
their proceedings” or “masters of their procedures” is frequently evoked in
committee debates or the House.[519]
The concept refers to the freedom committees normally have to organize their work
as they see fit and the option they have of defining, on their own, certain
rules of procedure that facilitate their proceedings.
These freedoms are not, however, total or
absolute.[520]
First, it is useful to bear in mind that committees are creatures of the House.[521]
This means that they have no independent existence and are not permitted to
take action unless they have been authorized/empowered to do so by the House.
The freedom committees have is, in fact, a
freedom limited on two levels. First, committees are free to organize their
proceedings as they see fit provided that their studies and the motions and
reports they adopt comply with the orders of reference and instructions issued
by the House. Second, committees may adopt procedural rules to govern their
proceedings, but only to the extent the House does not prescribe anything
specific. At all times, directives from procedural sources higher than
parliamentary committees (Constitution; statutes; orders of reference,
instructions and Standing Orders of the House; and rulings by the Speaker) take
precedence over any rules a committee may adopt.[522]
Disorder and misconduct in a committee may
arise as a result of the failure to abide by the rules and practices of a
committee or to respect the authority of the Chair. Disorder and misconduct
also include the use of unparliamentary language, failure to yield the floor or
persistent interruption of the proceedings in any manner. However, neither
committees nor their Chairs have the authority to censure an act of disorder or
misconduct.[523]
If a committee desires that some action be taken against those disrupting the
proceedings, it must report the situation to the House. The House may then take
such measures as it deems appropriate.
In the event of disorder, the Chair may
suspend the meeting until order can be restored[524] or, if the
situation is considered to be so serious as to prevent the committee from
continuing with its work, the meeting may be adjourned.[525] In addition, the Chair
may, at his or her discretion, interrupt a member whose observations and
questions are repetitive or are unrelated to the matter before the committee.
If the member in question persists in making repetitive or off-topic comments,
the Chair can give the floor to another member. If the member refuses to yield
the floor and continues talking, the Chair may suspend or adjourn the meeting.[526]
One of the primary responsibilities of a
committee Chair is to determine the procedural admissibility of matters raised
in committee and whether the committee business is conducted to procedure. The Chair
makes such decisions on his or her own initiative or following a point of order
raised by a Member.
Decisions by the Chair are not debatable.
They can, however, be appealed to the full committee.[527] To appeal a
decision by a Chair, a Member must inform the committee of his or her intent
immediately after the decision is announced. The Chair then asks the committee
to vote on the following motion: “That the decision of the Chair be sustained”.
This motion cannot be debated or amended
and it is put to a vote immediately. If a majority of Members vote in favour of
the motion, the Chair’s decision is sustained.[528]
If a majority of Members vote against the motion, the Chair’s decision is
overturned.[529]
In the event of an equality of voices, the Chair’s decision is sustained.[530]
The overturning of a ruling is not considered a matter of confidence in the
Chair.
A point of order can be raised at any time
during a meeting where a Member is of the opinion that the Standing Orders or a
committee rule has been breached, or the Member believes that usual practice
has not been followed. The proceedings under way are temporarily suspended
while the point of order is addressed. Every point of order must be considered
by the Chair, who determines whether or not the point of order has merit.
Generally, the Chair makes an immediate decision on a point of order. However,
where the point of order requires greater reflection or more extensive
research, the Chair can take the matter under advisement and render a decision
at a later time.[531]
The Chair of a committee does not have the
power to rule on questions of privilege;[532]
only the Speaker has that power. If a Member wishes to raise a question of
privilege during a committee meeting or an incident arises in connection with
the committee’s proceedings that may constitute a breach of privilege, the
committee Chair allows the Member to explain the situation. The Chair then
determines whether the question raised in fact relates to parliamentary
privilege. If the Chair determines that the question does relate to
parliamentary privilege, the committee may then consider presenting a report on
the question to the House. The report should:
clearly
describe the situation;
summarize
the facts;
provide
the names of the people involved, if applicable;
state
that there may be a breach of privilege; and
ask
the House to take such measures as it deems appropriate.[533]
Ordinarily, presentation of a report to the
House is a prerequisite for any question of privilege arising from the
proceedings of a committee.[534]
Every standing, legislative and special
committee observes the Standing Orders of the House so far as they may be
applicable, except the Standing Orders as to the election of a Speaker,
seconding of motions, limiting the number of times of speaking and the length
of speeches.[535]
This means that, in principle, the number
of times a Member may speak in committee and the length of his or her speeches
is not subject to any limit. The Member can thus take the floor as often and
for as long as he or she wishes, provided the Chair has duly given the Member
the floor.
The freedom the Standing Orders give
committees regarding the number of times a person may speak and the length of
speeches does not prevent a committee from adopting its own rules if it judges
that such rules would be useful. The vast majority of committees adopt rules on
the questioning of witnesses, specifying the order in which Members will pose
questions and about the length of the questioning. As well, committees
sometimes adopt rules to limit the number of times a person may speak or the
length of speeches for specific studies or debates.[536]
A motion is needed to submit a proposal to
a committee and obtain a decision on it. A motion is moved by a Member to have
the committee do something, order its Chair and staff to ensure that something
is done (an order) or express an opinion on a matter (resolution). Where the
motion is debatable, moving of the motion triggers a period of debate. If no
Member wishes to speak to the motion, the debate ends. The Chair then calls for
a vote on the motion. A decision is made: the motion is either carried or
defeated.
The Standing Orders do not require that
notice be given before moving a motion in committee. However, to avoid
situations where the members of a committee are forced to consider issues
without warning, committees usually deem it appropriate to adopt rules on
notice for substantive motions. Such notices are normally 24 or 48 hours.[537]
According to standard practice, 48 hours’
notice means that two nights must pass before the motion can be presented in
committee, rather than 48 actual hours.[538]
Twenty-four hours’ notice corresponds to one night. If 48 hours’ notice is
given on a Tuesday, a committee can act on the motion on the following
Thursday. Notices of motion issued by a Member who is no longer a member of a
committee become moot.
A member of a committee may move a motion
at any time in the normal course of a meeting,[539]
provided that:
the
notice period, if any, has been respected;
the
motion is not a substantive motion or a subsidiary motion where such a motion
is already being debated (a committee is required to deal with such motions one
at a time);
the
member has the floor to move the motion and is not doing so on a point of order;
and
moving
the motion does not violate any rule the committee may have adopted in respect
of the period in which motions can be moved.[540]
A motion moved in committee does not require
a seconder,[541]
but should be submitted to the committee Chair in writing; this allows the
motion to be read to the committee members if necessary and accurately recorded
in the minutes.
A committee cannot make a decision or vote
unless there is quorum.[542]
When debate on a motion ends or when a non-debatable motion is moved, the Chair
reads the motion and asks the committee members if they agree.[543]
In contrast to the procedure in the House,
where Members are summoned by the division bells, there is no provision for
summoning absent committee members to a vote.[544]
Decisions can be:
made
unanimously;
made
“on division”;
voted
on with a show of hands; or
made
by recorded vote (at the request of a committee member).
Members who do not want a motion to be
carried unanimously but also do not want a vote by show of hands or a recorded
vote can indicate their wishes by simply saying “on division” after the Chair
calls for a vote by the members.[545]
However, if there is obvious disagreement among the members, the committee Chair
calls for a vote by show of hands. The number of members voting for or against
the motion is recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings of the meeting.[546]
If a Member requests a recorded vote,[547]
the clerk reads out the names of the committee members in alphabetical order
(by political affiliation). Each member replies “yea” or “nay”. The results of
the vote are announced by the clerk, and the Chair declares the motion carried
or defeated, as the case may be. The names of the members who voted for and
against the motion are listed in the Minutes of Proceedings.[548]
As with the Speaker of the House, the Chair
of a committee votes only in the case of an equality of voices (that is, a tie).[549]
The Chair is not bound to give reasons for his or her vote and is free to vote
either way. However, when bills are being studied, the Chairs of legislative or
standing committees normally vote in such a way as to maintain the status
quo or to keep the matter open for further discussion, just as the Speaker
would do in similar circumstances in the House.[550]
Generally, the rules governing the
admissibility of motions in the House of Commons apply in the same manner to
parliamentary committees.[554]
For example, a motion should not contain offensive or unparliamentary language.
As in the House, the use of a preamble in a
motion in committee is not recommended. A committee has the means to explain
the motions it adopts in the body of the report it presents to the House, if such
explanation is needed.
Furthermore, motions moved in committee
must not go beyond the committee’s mandate[555]
or infringe upon the prerogative of the Crown relating to the appropriation of
public revenues.[556]
There are three main types of motions moved
in committee: substantive motions, subsidiary motions and privileged motions.
The three types of motions and the links between them are illustrated in Figure
20.4.
A substantive motion is a separate,
self-contained motion. It does not arise from another motion. Generally, a
substantive motion is debatable and amendable. If carried, a substantive motion
becomes a resolution or order of the committee. Many committees require notice
for this type of motion. Some allow substantive motions to be moved without
notice if they arise from a study or debate then before the committee.
A subsidiary motion is used to advance a
question before the committee, for example, to allow a report to be adopted.
Subsidiary motions do not normally require notice, but they are debatable and
amendable.
A privileged motion is a motion dependent
on another motion already before the committee. There are two types of
privileged motions: motions to amend (amendments) and superseding motions.
An amendment[557] is moved in order
to amend a motion before the committee. The objective is to make the motion
more acceptable to the committee or put forward new wording for the main
motion. A motion to amend does not require notice. Once the amendment has been
moved and deemed admissible, the Chair submits it to the committee. Debate on
the main motion is suspended, and the amendment is debated until it has been
decided. Debate on the main motion then resumes, whether or not it has been
amended. As with a main motion, a motion to amend can itself be amended. A subamendment
is a proposed amendment to an amendment. In most cases, there is no limit on
the number of amendments that may be moved; however, only one amendment and one
subamendment may be considered by a committee at one time.
A superseding motion is a motion moved for
the purpose of replacing the motion then being considered by the committee.
There are two types of superseding motions: dilatory motions and the previous
question.
A dilatory motion is a motion designed to
dispose of the original question before the committee, either for the time
being or permanently.[558]
Dilatory motions do not require notice, nor can they be amended or debated.
They are therefore put to a vote immediately.
If a dilatory motion is accompanied by a
condition, it becomes a substantive motion. It is then subject to the rules on
the admissibility of such motions.[559]
It also becomes debatable and amendable.
The main dilatory motions deemed admissible
in committee include:
“That
the Committee do now adjourn” / “That the meeting be adjourned”:
If the motion is carried, the committee
adjourns immediately to the call of the Chair.[560]
If the motion is defeated, the committee meeting continues.
“That
the debate be now adjourned”:
A member who moves “That the debate be now
adjourned” wishes to temporarily suspend debate underway on a motion or study.
If the motion is carried, debate on the motion or study ceases and the
committee moves on to the next agenda item.[561]
“That
the Committee proceed [to another order of business]”:
This motion results in the matter then
under consideration by the committee being replaced by the order of business
proposed in the motion. If the motion is carried, the committee immediately proceeds
to the “order” referred to in the motion.[562]
The motion “That this question be now put”
is known as the previous question. In the House, the previous question is a
debatable motion.[563]
When the debate ends, the motion for the previous question is put to a vote. If
the motion is carried, the initial motion under consideration is immediately
put to a vote.[564]
In committee, motions for the previous
question are inadmissible.[565]
At the beginning of a session, a
committee’s work typically follows a number of steps. Ordinarily, these steps
include the convening of an organization meeting, the determination of a study,
the preparation of a work schedule and a list of witnesses, the receipt of a
briefing, the gathering of evidence and opinions, deliberations leading to the
production and adoption of a report, and the presentation of the report to the
House. In some cases, a government response to the report will be requested, or
the report will be concurred in by the House.[566]
Before a committee can begin to consider
its work at the beginning of a parliamentary session, it must be properly
constituted, that is, its members must be appointed and a Chair designated.
Where the Chair has not been appointed by the House or named by the Speaker,
the election of the Chair takes place at a committee’s first meeting, which is called
the “organization meeting”.[567]
Legislative committees must meet to begin
their work within two sitting days of the naming of the Chair and the
appointment by the House of their membership or the referral of a bill to the
committee.[568]
As they begin their work, committees often find
it useful to adopt a series of motions to deal with items of day-to-day
business, called “routine” motions. Since each committee is free to organize
its work as it sees fit, there is no official list of routine motions which
every committee must adopt. Routine motions may vary from one session of Parliament
to another. Their provisions may be influenced by the relative proportion of
the recognized parties in the House. The following is a list of the principal
routine motions. In many instances, a committee will adapt these motions in
order to suit its own particular circumstances. The examples shown in the boxes
are for purposes of illustration only.
In order to carry out their work,
committees seek the assistance of analysts from the Library of Parliament. The
usual motion leaves the control and coordination of these individuals to the
Chair of the committee.
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.[569]
Committees that can and wish to have a
subcommittee on agenda and procedure, or “steering committee”, adopt a routine
motion establishing the subcommittee and specifying its composition.
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure
be established and composed of the Chair, the two Vice-Chairs and a member of
the other opposition party.[570]
Committees may authorize the Chair to hold
meetings for the sole purpose of hearing evidence when a quorum is not present.[571]
As a general rule, however, committees stipulate in a routine motion that a
minimum number of members must be present in order for the committee to hear
witnesses.[572]
That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings
and to receive and publish evidence when a quorum is not present, provided that
at least three (3) members are present, including a member of the opposition.[573]
Committees normally set limits on the time
each witness is given to make an opening statement. They also establish the
length of time that will be devoted to questioning by committee members and how
that time will be divided among the members of the various parties represented
on the committee. As well, some committees adopt special rules for the
questioning of Ministers.
That witnesses be given ten (10) minutes to
make their opening statement; that, at the discretion of the Chair, during the
questioning of witnesses, there be allocated ten (10) minutes for the first questioner
of each party when a Minister appears before the Committee and five (5) minutes
for the other meetings and that thereafter, five (5) minutes be allocated to
each subsequent questioner alternating between Government and Opposition
parties.[574]
The public has the right to communicate
with a parliamentary committee in either official language, as stipulated in
the Constitution Act, 1982 and the Official Languages Act.[575]
However, Members sitting on a committee are entitled to receive documents in
the official language of their choice. Committees usually adopt a routine
motion to ensure that all documents distributed to committee members will be in
both official languages. When a committee receives a document in one official language,
the clerk of the committee has it translated into the other official language
before it is distributed to committee members. Some committees specify in the
motion that witnesses are to be advised of this rule. Some committees further
prescribe that only the clerk of the committee is authorized to distribute
documents to committee members.[576]
That only the clerk of the Committee be
authorized to distribute to the members of the Committee and only when the
documents are available in both official languages.[577]
Committee members may occasionally choose
to continue their deliberations during meal times. Consequently, the majority
of committees adopt a routine motion authorizing the clerk of the committee to
order meals and charge them to the committee’s budget.
That the clerk of the Committee be authorized
to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the Committee
and its subcommittees.[578]
Many witnesses incur expenses in travelling
to appear before committees, whether they attend meetings held in the
Parliamentary Precinct or in other parts of Canada. As no expenditure can be
made from committee funds without committee approval, it is necessary that a
motion be adopted setting out the conditions under which witness expenses are
to be reimbursed. The Board of Internal Economy has established guidelines for
acceptable levels of reimbursement, but it is up to each committee to decide in
which cases it will agree to reimburse witnesses.[579]
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.[580]
In camera
meetings are normally closed to everyone except members, committee staff and
invited witnesses.[581]
However, committees may wish to interpret the in camera rule more
narrowly or more broadly, and adopt a motion providing for specific inclusions
(such as a member of each committee member’s staff) or exclusions.[582]
That, unless otherwise ordered, each
Committee member be allowed to have one staff member present at in camera
meetings.[583]
While no public transcript (Evidence)
is produced of what is said during in camera proceedings, committees
generally decide to have a transcript produced for the private consultation of
committee members and staff. The transcript is retained by the clerk of the
committee. Committees must also decide how such transcripts will be disposed of
at the end of the session, that is whether they will be destroyed or made part
of the permanent record for historical purposes.[584]
Committees sometimes prefer to deal with the matter of the disposition of in
camera transcripts on a case-by-case basis.[585]
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.[586]
Committees often find it appropriate to
require members to give notice before presenting a motion. In imposing a notice
requirement, committees must determine what types of motions will require
notice, how notice is to be given (be it orally or in writing) and to whom (the
committee clerk, for example). They must also determine how members will be
informed of such notices, as committees, unlike the House, do not have a Notice
Paper.
Committees may also decide to submit
notices of motions to the steering committee for review.
That forty-eight (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 to members in both official languages.[587]
In addition to the routine motions listed
above, there is a wide range of motions related to procedure and administration
that committees may adopt from time to time.[588]
In determining what studies a committee
will undertake, its choice may be dictated by an order of reference from the
House or the interests of its members, if it is in a position to initiate
studies. A committee may ask its subcommittee on agenda and procedure to make
recommendations regarding the studies to be carried out. Committees often study
a number of questions at the same time.[589]
Careful planning is required to ensure that their work is done efficiently and
that any deadlines set by the House are met.
After deciding on the studies to be
undertaken, a committee should agree on a work plan for conducting the studies
as efficiently as possible. The work plan may include a work schedule, a
calendar of meetings and a list of witnesses.
Witness selection may be carried out in a
number of different ways. Generally, witnesses are proposed by individual
committee members. The committee may also invite potential witnesses to
indicate their interest in appearing. The selection is often delegated to the
subcommittee on procedure and agenda, subject to ratification by the main
committee.[590]
In addition, groups and individuals who are aware of a forthcoming study by a
committee may give notice of their interest in appearing. It is the committee’s
responsibility to determine which witnesses it will hear.[591]
Practical considerations, such as the length of time allocated for a study, may
limit the number of witnesses the committee will be able to accommodate.
Figure 20.5 illustrates the process that is
followed in the case of a study leading to the presentation of a substantive
report to the House. This is the usual order of business; each committee
decides how much time it will spend on each step, depending on its needs and
any deadlines set by the House. A committee may decide to skip one or more
steps. In some cases, it may choose to abandon a study before completing it.[592]
When a committee undertakes a study, it may
choose first to receive a briefing on the various aspects of the question to be
explored. The briefing, which may be provided by the committee’s analysts,
public servants or consultants, is sometimes held in camera.[593]
In some cases, the committee’s analysts provide members with a briefing note
instead of a briefing session. In the case of a study of a government bill,
officials from the sponsoring department generally prepare a briefing book on
the issues associated with the legislative measure.
Committees generally obtain the opinions of
persons well versed in or directly concerned with the issues before them. The
consultation may be as narrow as a relatively small group of technical experts
or as broad as the entire population of Canada.
Generally, committees gather information by
hearing witnesses and receiving briefs. Ordinarily, they have the power to send
for persons, papers and records.[594]
A committee may inform members of the
public of its activities and solicit their views. To that end, it may issue
news releases, send materials to interested groups by regular or electronic
mail, place advertisements in newspapers, and post announcements on the CPAC
network or the Parliament of Canada Web site.[595]
In recent years, committees have used other
methods of hearing witnesses, such as panels,[596]
“town halls”,[597]
electronic polls and video conferences.[598]
In addition, the development of new communications technologies such as the Internet
has helped diversify the means used by committees to inform the public of their
activities and receive their views on specific subjects.[599] For example, the
Subcommittee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities of the Standing
Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with
Disabilities held an electronic consultation in 2002‑03, spread over two
sessions of the Thirty-Seventh Parliament.[600]
Just before the dissolution of the Thirty-Eighth Parliament, in October and
November 2005, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Trade also conducted an online consultation.[601]
The House recommends that its committees
advise witnesses of their rights and duties and of the penalties to which they
are liable if they refuse to respond to committees’ requests.[602]
Any witness appearing before a committee
may be required to take an oath or make a solemn affirmation (Figure 20.6).[603]
As a general rule, committees, which have full discretion in this matter,
seldom require witnesses to be sworn in.[604]
A witness who refuses to be sworn in might be charged with contempt of the
House.[605]
Likewise, refusal to answer questions or failure to reply truthfully may give
rise to a charge of contempt of the House, whether the witness has been sworn
in or not.[606]
Witnesses appearing before committees are
usually asked to make a brief opening statement, summarizing their views or the
views of the organization they represent, on the subject of the committee’s
inquiry. Following this opening statement, there is a period for questioning.[607]
The Chair may, on occasion, participate in the questioning of witnesses.[608]
Witnesses giving testimony may be assisted
by counsel, but they must first seek the committee’s permission. Counsel, when
permitted, is restricted to an advisory role and may neither ask questions nor
reply on the witness’s behalf. Counsel is not noted in the Minutes of Proceedings
as a witness, but rather as a participant or a person attending as an
individual.[609]
There are no specific rules governing the
nature of questions which may be put to witnesses appearing before committees,
beyond the general requirement of relevance to the issue before the committee.[610]
Witnesses must answer all questions which the committee puts to them.[611]
A witness may object to a question asked by an individual committee member.
However, if the committee agrees that the question be put to the witness, he or
she is obliged to reply. On the other hand, members have been urged to display
the “appropriate courtesy and fairness” when questioning witnesses.[612]
The actions of a witness who refuses to answer questions may be reported to the
House.[613]
Particular attention is paid to the questioning
of public servants.[614]
The obligation of a witness to answer all questions put by the committee must
be balanced against the role that public servants play in providing
confidential advice to their Ministers. The role of the public servant has traditionally
been viewed in relation to the implementation and administration of government
policy, rather than the determination of what that policy should be.
Consequently, public servants have been excused from commenting on the policy
decisions made by the government.[615] In
addition, committees ordinarily accept the reasons that a public servant gives
for declining to answer a specific question or series of questions which
involve the giving of a legal opinion, which may be perceived as a conflict
with the witness’ responsibility to the Minister, which are outside of their
own area of responsibility, or which might affect business transactions.[616]
Moreover, the proclamation in December 2006
of the Act providing for conflict of interest rules, restrictions on election
financing and measures respecting administrative transparency, oversight and
accountability had an impact on the work of the Standing Committee on
Public Accounts. This legislation, which amended the Financial
Administration Act, specifies the persons designated as accounting officers
for departments and prescribes the matters for which they are accountable to
the Committee. This led the Committee to establish a protocol in March 2007
that describes and explains the ground rules for the appearance of Ministers
and senior officials before the Committee.[617]
Witnesses appearing before committees enjoy
the same freedom of speech and protection from arrest and molestation as do
Members of Parliament.[618]
At the committee’s discretion, witnesses may be allowed to testify in camera
when dealing with confidential matters of state or sensitive commercial or
personal information.[619]
Under special circumstances, witnesses have been permitted to appear
anonymously or under a pseudonym.[620]
Tampering with a witness or in any way
attempting to deter a witness from giving evidence may constitute a breach of
parliamentary privilege. Similarly, any interference with or threats against
witnesses who have already testified may be treated as a breach of privilege by
the House.[621]
In light of the protection afforded
witnesses by Parliament, they are expected to exercise judgement and restraint
in presenting their views to committees. Where witnesses persist in making
comments which a committee deems inappropriate, their testimony has been
expunged from the record.[622]
A brief is any document presenting the
position of an individual, group, organization or government department with
respect to a particular issue.
Federal departments and agencies are
required to submit documents to committees in both official languages. Everyone
else, including Members of the House of Commons, may submit written material in
either official language. On occasion, a committee will consider a document to
be of sufficient importance that it will agree to treat it either as an
“appendix” or an “exhibit”. An appendix is a document which the committee has
ordered to be appended to the published Evidence of a particular
meeting.[623]
An exhibit is any document or item classified as such by the committee. It is
therefore part of the committee’s permanent records for the duration of the
session, before being archived at Library and Archives Canada under a formal
agreement between Library and Archives Canada and the House of Commons.[624]
Exhibits are neither published nor distributed to committee members; they are
kept by the clerk for consultation. When a committee decides to designate a
document as an appendix or exhibit, the appropriate entry is made in the
committee’s Minutes of Proceedings.
A document submitted to a committee becomes
the property of the committee and forms part of the committee’s records. Each
committee must decide whether such documents will be made public or kept
confidential. Confidential documents are for the exclusive use of the
committee’s members and staff for the duration of the session.[625]
Confidential documents of committees are to be classified as Secret Records by
the Library and Archives Canada for a period of 30 years from the end of the
session in which they were received.
Once a committee has heard all the
witnesses and reviewed the documents submitted in the course of a study, it
normally turns its attention to drafting the report that will be presented to
the House. Deliberations on a draft report usually proceed in camera,[626]
although the committee may decide to hold its proceedings in public.[627]
If a report is short, it can be amended and adopted immediately. If the report
is a lengthy substantive report, committee staff is normally given drafting
instructions by the committee. The draft report is then considered and possibly
amended by the members in one or more meetings.[628]
Once a majority of the members have agreed
on a final version of a report, the committee adopts one or more motions to
approve the report and directs the Chair to present it to the House.[629]
For longer substantive reports, these motions may include:
adoption
of the draft report, with or without amendments;
a
request for a government response, if applicable (in the case of standing or
special committees);
authorization
for the committee Chair and staff to correct typographical and stylistic errors
in the report as needed;
authorization
to append to the report any supplementary or dissenting opinions, as well as
their length and format, deadlines and languages in which they must be
submitted;
the
number of copies to be printed, if applicable;
authorization
for the committee Chair to present the report to the House; and
instructions
to the clerk of the committee to arrange a press conference, if applicable,
after the report is presented to the House.
Committee reports are presented during
Routine Proceedings, when the Speaker calls “Presenting Reports from
Committees”.[631]
Reports are ordinarily presented by the Chair, on instruction from the
committee.[632]
In the absence of the Chair, a report may be presented by another member of the
committee.[633]
The Member presenting the report may offer
a brief explanation of its subject matter.[634]
Where a report has supplementary or dissenting opinions appended to it, a
committee member from the Official Opposition may offer a succinct explanation
thereof.[635]
The Standing Orders do not permit any other Member to comment on the report at
this time. However, the House may, by unanimous consent, authorize another
Member to give an opinion on the report itself or on a supplementary or
dissenting opinion.[636]
The House sometimes makes provision for the
presentation of committee reports during adjournment periods, by having them
filed with the Clerk of the House. This has been done both for specific reports,
and as a general provision for any committee reports completed during an
adjournment period.[637]
Committee reports must be presented to the
House before they can be released to the public. Even when a report is
concurred in at a public meeting, the report itself is considered confidential
until it has actually been presented to the House. In addition, any disclosure
of the contents of a report prior to presentation, either by Members or non-Members,
may be judged to be a breach of privilege.[638] Speakers
have ruled that questions of privilege concerning leaked reports will not be
considered unless a specific charge is made against an individual, organization
or group, and that the charge must be levelled not only against those outside
the House who have made the material public, but must also identify the source
of the leak within the House itself.[639]
It is not in order for Members to allude to
committee proceedings or evidence in the House until the committee has
presented its report to the House.[640]
When a report is presented to the House, a
standing or special committee may request that the government table a
comprehensive response to it within 120 calendar days.[641] The committee may
request the response either to the whole report or to one or more parts.[642]
The request is recorded in the Journals immediately after the entry
regarding the presentation of the report. A request for a partial response does
not prevent the government from responding to the entire report. Speakers have
consistently refused to define “comprehensive” in this context, maintaining
that the nature of the response must be left to the discretion of the
government.[643]
When the House is sitting, the response may be tabled by a Minister or a
Parliamentary Secretary during Routine Proceedings under “Tabling of Documents”
or filed with the Clerk.[644]
When the House is adjourned, the response may be filed with the Clerk, or the
Minister may wait until the House resumes sitting to table it.[645] The Standing
Orders do not provide for any sanction should the government fail to comply
with the requirement to present a response.[646]
Recommendations in committee reports are
normally drafted in the form of motions so that, if the reports are concurred
in, the recommendations become clear orders or resolutions of the House.[647]
A Member who wishes to move a motion for
concurrence in a committee report must give 48 hours’ notice of the motion.[648]
The Member can then move the motion under the rubric “Motions” during Routine
Proceedings. The motion can be debated for up to three hours.[649] In the case of a
report for which a government response has been requested, no motion for
concurrence in the report may be moved until the comprehensive response has
been tabled or the 120-day period has expired, whichever comes first.[650]
When a motion to concur in a report is
before the House, it is the concurrence in the report as a whole which the
House is considering. No amendment may be presented to the text of the report.[651]
An amendment to a motion for concurrence may, however, be proposed to recommit
the report to the committee for re-examination.[652]
A motion to concur in a report on the estimates
can only be debated on an allotted day under the Business of Supply.[653]
The Standing Orders also provide a special procedure for reports containing a
resolution to revoke a regulatory instrument made by the Standing Joint
Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations.[654]
Reports containing a recommendation to not proceed with a private Member’s bill
and reports requesting an extension to consider a private Member’s bill are also
subject to specific concurrence procedures.[655] Reports
on the membership of legislative committees and some reports concerning the
selection of votable items of Private Members’ Business are deemed adopted upon
presentation to the House.[656]
Where a bill has been reported back from
committee, it is subject to the rules and practices governing the legislative
process, rather than those relating to committee reports in general.
Committees conduct their deliberations and
make decisions within the framework of meetings. In order to accommodate the
wide variety of subjects that they may be called upon to examine, committees
have a range of meeting formats from which to choose. They sometimes engage in
other types of activities in addition to regular meetings.
Committee meetings are ordinarily open to
the public and the media. Simultaneous interpretation services are offered to
committee members, witnesses and members of the public.
On occasion, a committee may decide to hold
an in camera meeting to deal with administrative matters, to consider a
draft report or to receive a briefing. Subcommittees on Agenda and Procedure
usually meet in camera.[657]
Committees also meet in camera to deal with documents or matters
requiring confidentiality, such as national security.[658] Depending on the
needs, a committee may conduct one part of a meeting in public and the other
part in camera.
Committees usually switch from meeting in public
to meeting in camera (and vice versa) at the suggestion of the Chair, with
the implied consent of the members. If there is no such consent, a member may
move a formal motion to meet in camera. The motion is decided
immediately without debate or amendment.[659]
The committee decides, either on a case-by-case
basis or as a routine motion, whether a transcript of in camera
proceedings is to be kept.[660] Minutes
of in camera meetings are publicly available, but certain information
usually found in the minutes of committee meetings is not included.[661]
Neither the public nor the media is permitted
at in camera meetings, and there is no broadcasting of the proceedings.[662]
Usually, only the committee members, the committee staff and invited witnesses,
if any, attend in camera meetings. Members of the House who are not
members of the committee normally withdraw when the committee is meeting in
camera. However, the committee may allow them to remain in the meeting
room, just as it may allow any other individual to remain.[663] Divulging any part
of the proceedings of an in camera committee meeting has been ruled by
the Speaker to constitute a prima facie matter of privilege.[664]
Committees sometimes choose to meet
informally with parliamentarians and government officials from other countries
who are visiting Canada.[665]
As an informal meeting is not, strictly speaking, a committee meeting, it may
take place in a much more relaxed atmosphere. Members are not bound by the
ordinary rules and practices that govern committee meetings. The proceedings
are neither recorded nor transcribed,[666] nor is
the committee entitled to any of the privileges associated with parliamentary
proceedings or to exercise any of the powers which the House has conferred to
it. No minutes of the meeting are produced. Frequently, informal meetings are not
held in a committee room, but in a room that provides a more appropriate
setting.
From time to time, committees also travel
for the purpose of gathering evidence, attending a conference[667]
or visiting sites related to a study.[668] In order
to hold such meetings or activities outside the Parliamentary Precinct, even if
they involve travel within the National Capital Region, a committee must obtain
the necessary travel funds and the permission of the House to travel.[669]
The House may grant a committee permission to travel by adopting a motion to
that effect or by concurring in a committee report recommending that such
permission be given.[670]
Committees empowered to hold hearings
elsewhere in Canada do so in the same manner as on Parliament Hill. The
committee retains all of the powers accorded it by Standing Orders or special orders,
and committee members and witnesses are protected by parliamentary privilege.
When travelling outside of Canada, committees usually have the opportunity to consult with groups and individuals and
to tour facilities.[671] Outside
the country, committees do not hold formal hearings.[672] The powers which
the House delegates to committees are not in effect when a committee is outside
of Canada, nor are committee proceedings protected by parliamentary privilege.
During regular meetings in the
Parliamentary Precinct, committees usually meet in specially equipped committee
rooms provided by the House of Commons or, in the case of joint committees, the
Senate.[673]
Committees may also use other rooms in the Parliament Buildings for informal
meetings and other activities.
As Figure 20.7 illustrates, meeting rooms
are usually arranged in an open-rectangle configuration. The Chair sits at one
end, flanked by the clerk and the analysts from the Library of Parliament.
Government members are at the Chair’s right, while opposition members sit on
the left. Witnesses, if any, sit at the end of the rectangle opposite the
Chair. Committee members’ staff sit behind the members on either side of the
room, and there is seating for the public and the media at the rear of the
room, behind the witnesses. Figure 20.8 shows a photograph of a committee room
in the Centre Block.
Committees often meet outside the
Parliamentary Precinct in hotel conference rooms that are capable of
accommodating their usual configuration.
When the House is sitting, most committee
meetings are held from Monday to Thursday. The average length of a meeting is
two hours, but a committee may meet for a longer or shorter period, as it sees
fit.[674]
As the number of meeting rooms provided by
the House of Commons is limited, standing committees follow a system of
priority access based on rotating blocks of time approved by the Whips of the
recognized parties.[675]
Standing committees are divided into four groups; each group is assigned one
block of time, which consists of two periods per week. These periods are:
Mondays
and Wednesdays, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.;
Tuesdays
and Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.;
Tuesdays
and Thursdays, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; and
Tuesdays
and Thursdays, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Normally, each group of standing committees
is given a new block of time in September and January. Special committees are
given priority during periods other than those allocated to standing
committees, including after 5:30 p.m., and on Mondays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Subcommittees may meet
during the time normally reserved for their main committee if it is not
meeting, and may meet at other times. Standing joint committees usually meet
outside these blocks of time.
For committees which do not have priority
in a given time period, access to meeting rooms is on a first-come,
first-served basis, after those entitled to meet at that time. Committee room
access practices notwithstanding, the Standing Orders provide that, when the
House is sitting, committees considering legislation or estimates have priority
over all other committees.[676]
Moreover, standing committees are prohibited from sitting at the same time as a
legislative committee studying a bill which emanates from or principally
affects the department or agency for which they are responsible.[677]
Committee meetings are convened by the
Chair,[678]
acting either on a decision made by the committee,[679] or on his or her
own authority.[680]
Meetings of joint committees are usually convened by one of the Joint-Chairs.[681]
Only the Chair of a committee may convene a meeting; Vice-Chairs have no such
power. However, the House may instruct a committee to meet at a specific time.[682]
The Standing Orders provide that four
members of a standing committee may make a request in writing that the
committee meet.[683] The
request is forwarded to the clerk of the committee. It specifies the reasons
for which the meeting should be held.[684] A meeting
must be held within five calendar days to consider the written request. The
Chair may agree to consider the request at a regular meeting of the committee,[685]
or call a special meeting for that purpose, particularly during an adjournment
of the House.[686]
Forty-eight hours’ notice of such a meeting must nevertheless be given to the
members.[687]
In considering the request, the committee
decides whether or not it wishes to take up the requested subject matter. There
is no obligation on the committee to conclude debate.[688]
If it decides to consider the matter, it may do so as and when it wishes. A
committee meeting convened in response to a request by four members may be held
in public or in camera.
Circumstances sometimes arise which make it
necessary to cancel a committee meeting, after a notice convening the meeting
has been sent. Where a committee has agreed to adjourn to the call of the
Chair, the Chair instructs the clerk to send an amendment to the notice to
members, informing them of the cancellation. Where the meeting has been
convened by order of the committee, the Chair usually consults with
representatives of the various parties before sending the cancellation notice.[689]
In the case of joint committees, the committee may decide whether a single
Joint-Chair may convene or cancel meetings or whether both Joint-Chairs must
act together.[690]
In order to exercise the powers granted to
it by the House, the Standing Orders require a committee to have a quorum at
its meetings.[691] In the
case of standing, legislative and special committees, a majority of the members
constitute a quorum.[692]
The Chair of a legislative committee is not counted for the purpose of
establishing a quorum.
Only regular members of a committee, or
properly designated substitutes, are counted as part of the quorum. As a
courtesy, most committees do not begin their meetings until at least one Member
of the opposition is in attendance, even if a quorum is present.
The quorum for standing joint and special
joint committees is not set out in the Standing Orders. Standing joint
committees propose a quorum by means of a report presented to and concurred in
by both Houses.[693] The
quorum for a special joint committee is usually set out in the order of
reference which establishes it. It is generally the case that the quorum of
joint committees requires the presence of members from both Houses.[694]
In the case of joint meetings of standing committees, each committee must
achieve its own quorum in order to meet.
When a quorum is not present at the time
set for the meeting to begin, the committee Chair may allow 15 minutes for
other members to arrive.[695]
However, the Standing Orders do allow
standing, special and legislative committees to authorize the Chair to hold
meetings in order to receive evidence when a quorum is not present.[696]
Committees normally specify in a routine motion the number of members they wish
to be present in order for meetings to be held. This is referred to as a
“reduced quorum”.[697]
The motion often contains additional conditions.[698]
When only a reduced quorum is present, no
motions may be moved, and no votes may be held. Committees do, however, retain
the power to publish the evidence received at meetings held with a reduced
quorum.[699]
At joint meetings, the reduced quorum for
each committee must be present in order for witnesses to be heard. If it is not,
the meeting may take place, but it is not considered to be a joint meeting,
since one of the committees is without a quorum.
Committees frequently suspend their
meetings for various reasons, with the intention to resume later in the day.[700]
Suspensions may last a few seconds, or several hours, depending on the
circumstances, and a meeting may be suspended more than once. The committee
Chair must clearly announce the suspension, so that transcription ceases until
the meeting resumes. Meetings are suspended, for example, to change from public
to in camera mode, or the reverse,[701] to enable
witnesses to be seated or to hear witnesses by video conference,[702]
to put an end to disorder,[703] to
resolve a problem with the simultaneous interpretation system, or to move from
one item on the agenda to the next.[704]
Pursuant to the Standing Orders, the Chair
of a standing, special, legislative or joint committee is required to suspend
the meeting when the bells are sounded to call in the Members to a recorded division
in the House, unless there is unanimous consent of the members of the committee
to continue to sit.[705]
Committees most often adjourn to the call
of the Chair; that is, the decision as to the exact time of the next meeting is
left to the discretion of the Chair.[706]
This is done even when they have adopted a work plan that lays out a detailed
schedule of meetings. In this way, the Chair is given the flexibility to
respond effectively to changing events and to the availability of potential
witnesses. Committees may also adjourn to a specific time,[707] as they usually do
when the next meeting is scheduled for the immediate future, for example, the
next day or later the same day. Committees may, on occasion, adjourn without
making any provision for a future meeting, that is, to adjourn sine die
(indefinitely).[708]
A committee meeting is normally adjourned
by the adoption of a motion to that effect.[709] However,
most meetings are adjourned more informally, when the Chair receives the
implied consent of members to adjourn.[710] The committee
Chair cannot adjourn the meeting without the consent of a majority of the
members, unless the Chair decides that a case of disorder or misconduct is so
serious as to prevent the committee from continuing its work.[711]
While deliberating among themselves in
rooms made available to them within the Parliamentary Precinct, committee
members may perform numerous tasks without incurring direct expenses. The costs
of many services required for their meetings to function well are generally
assumed by various House of Commons services. However, nearly all committees
incur expenses in, for example, reimbursing the travel costs of witnesses who
appear before them. The Standing Orders provide parliamentary committees with
limited interim spending authority.[712]
The Board of Internal Economy is
responsible under the Parliament of Canada Act for all financial and
administrative matters respecting the House of Commons and its Members.[713]
The Board approves the financial policies which
apply to parliamentary committees. It also determines the budget envelope for
committee activities within the main estimates voted annually by Parliament.
The Board itself reviews the budget requests of legislative and special
committees, but delegates to the Liaison Committee the responsibility of allocating
available funds for standing and standing joint committees and managing their
funding.
The Liaison Committee is established under
the Standing Orders[714] and
returns from session to session, although it is not a standing committee as
such. It is composed of all the Chairs of standing committees and Members who
are Joint-Chairs of standing joint committees.[715]
The Liaison Committee reviews budget
requests from standing and standing joint committees. It allocates and manages
funds from the Board of Internal Economy.[716]
The Liaison Committee is also empowered
under the Standing Orders to present reports to the House[717]
and to strike subcommittees made up of members and associate members of the
Liaison Committee.[718] Seven
members constitute a quorum.[719] The
Standing Orders further provide that the Whip, or his or her designate, of any
recognized party not having a member on the Liaison Committee may take part in
its proceedings but may not vote, move a motion or be counted as part of any
quorum.[720]
At the beginning of each session and each
fall when the House is sitting, the Clerk of the House convenes an organization
meeting of the Liaison Committee to elect a Chair and a Vice-Chair. The meeting
is convened within five sitting days of the meeting of the last standing
committee to elect its Chair, but no later than the 20th sitting day after
the House concurs in the report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and
House Affairs listing the members of standing committees and Members
representing the House on standing joint committees.[721]
The Chairs of all standing committees, and the members who have already been
elected Joint-Chairs of standing joint committees, are called to this meeting.[722]
At this initial meeting, the Liaison
Committee usually strikes its Subcommittee on Committee Budgets, responsible
for the detailed review of budget requests from standing and standing joint
committees, the allocation of funding, the review of budget provisions and the preparation
of any supplementary budget requests. Decisions made by the Subcommittee within
the mandate given to it by the Liaison Committee do not have to be approved
individually by the latter in order to take effect.
The Subcommittee is usually composed of
seven members, including the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Liaison Committee.
They generally hold the same offices within the Subcommittee: they are elected
by their peers at the first meeting, or so designated by the main committee in
the order of reference establishing the Subcommittee.[723]
The other members of the Subcommittee are normally drawn from the government
party and the Official Opposition in a ratio that varies from session to
session.
As a rule, both the Liaison Committee and
its Subcommittee on Committee Budgets meet in camera.
Standing committees obtain funding by
presenting their budget requests to the Liaison Committee, whereas legislative
and special committees and subcommittees established by order of the House
present them to the Board of Internal Economy. Subcommittees created by
standing committees present their budget requests to their main committee for
approval before they are presented to the Liaison Committee.[724]
In the case of standing joint and special joint committees, budget requests are
presented for approval to the Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy,
Budget and Administration, and the appropriate House of Commons bodies.[725]
Committees fund their activities through
various types of budgets. Standing and standing joint committees are given basic
operational budgets to cover routine committee expenses and those related
to major projects pending approval. Legislative and special committees receive interim
funding for the same types of expenditures. Operational budgets submitted
by standing and standing joint committees are used to pay costs related to
particular studies they intend to conduct. Lastly, travel budgets are
submitted when a standing or standing joint committee intends to travel outside
the Parliamentary Precinct. Legislative and special committees submit budgets
over and above their interim funding, subject to certain conditions.
All expenditures covered by these budgets
are subject to financial policies that regulate the type of expenditure
eligible and the extent of coverage.[726] Moreover,
although it can be interrupted by prorogation or dissolution,[727]
the committee financial cycle is related to that of a traditional fiscal year.
It begins on April 1 of a calendar year, and ends on the following March 31.
The activities of special and legislative committees are likely to span more
than one fiscal year, but their budgets and expenditures are nevertheless
managed on a fiscal-year basis.
At the beginning of a fiscal year, standing
and standing joint committees are allocated a basic operational budget.
Subcommittees may be given a basic operational budget on request by their clerk
to the clerk of the Liaison Committee. These amounts are reset at their initial
levels on September 1 of each year.
Once duly organized, legislative and
special committees are granted interim funding in order to begin their work
without delay. Interim funding is used until a budget, if necessary, is
approved for them. The approved budget will include the amount of the interim
funding.[728]
When a standing or standing joint committee
wishes to undertake a study that will require expenditures in excess of its basic
operational budget, it must prepare an operational budget to seek the necessary
funds. Figure 20.9 summarizes the process that is followed.
If a standing or standing joint committee
wishes to travel outside the Parliamentary Precinct, it must submit a travel
budget. Figure 20.9 illustrates the process followed in such a case. If the
committee decides to alter its initial itinerary as approved by the Liaison
Committee and the House, it submits a revised budget and the process is
repeated from the beginning.
Legislative and special committees submit a
budget to the Board of Internal Economy in the following cases:
the
projected cost of completing their work will exceed their interim funding;
they
have to travel outside the Parliamentary Precinct to do their work; and/or
they
decide to retain the services of one or more outside experts.
In addition, special committees must
present a budget for their operations within 30 days of being struck.
As Figure 20.10 illustrates, the approval
process for these budgets is very similar to that followed by standing and
standing joint committees, with a few exceptions.
If a parliamentary committee requires
funding in addition to its approved budgets, it submits a request to the Board
of Internal Economy or the Liaison Committee. Committees are not authorized to
incur expenses in excess of their budgets.[729]
For standing committees, study or travel funds
that are not used are usually returned to the Liaison Committee 30 calendar
days after completion of the study or travel in question. Should the budget
envelope allocated to the standing committees be exhausted, the Liaison
Committee may reapportion allocated funds from committee to committee as
required.
Parliamentary committees are responsible
modern institutions whose financial practices include accountability and
expenditure audit mechanisms. At the end of the fiscal year, the Board of
Internal Economy lists the expenditure of each parliamentary committee in an
annual financial report presented to the House of Commons.[730]
The House of Commons Committees Web site is
the main source of information on the work of committees.[731]
It contains almost everything committees publish, in English and in French, as
well as administrative and procedural information, including the list of
committee memberships. It is also possible to watch and listen to committee
meetings on the site.
A committee meeting is announced by means
of a notice of meeting issued by the clerk, at the request of the Chair. The
notice is e-mailed to all committee members and the appropriate administrative
services as soon as it is posted on the committees Web site. The notice
generally indicates the following:[732]
the
purpose of the meeting;
the
scheduled start and end time;
the
meeting number;
whether
the meeting, or parts of it, will be public or in camera;
whether
the meeting will be televised;
the
names of any witnesses invited to appear; and
whether
any witnesses will be appearing by video conference.
Notices of meetings must frequently be
amended. An amended notice is posted on the Web site and e‑mailed to the
same individuals and services that received the initial notice.[733]
If the meeting has to be cancelled, a
notice of cancellation is posted on the Web site. Committee members and the
appropriate administrative services are informed immediately by e-mail.
The committee clerk prepares the Minutes
of Proceedings for each committee meeting, and signs the original to attest
to its accuracy and authenticity. The clerk retains the originals of all Minutes
of Proceedings and archives them with the rest of the committee’s documents
at the end of each session. The Minutes of Proceedings usually provide
the following information:[734]
the
name of the Member who presided over the meeting;
whether
the meeting was televised;
whether
the meeting was held in camera;
the
authority under which the committee met;
the
names of those present (committee members or their substitutes, other Members
of the House of Commons, Senators, Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries,
witnesses, Library of Parliament analysts, and so on) whether they attended the
entire meeting or only a part of it;
matters
addressed by the committee during the meeting (hearing of witnesses, motions,
votes, consideration of a draft report, and so on);
the
time of any suspension and resumption of the meeting;
the
time of adjournment; and
the
name of the committee clerk.
The Minutes of Proceedings may also
contain the text of rulings made by the committee Chair on any procedural
matter.[736]
The Evidence is the transcript of
the proceedings of a committee. An unedited and untranslated version of the Evidence,
also known as the “blues”, is usually available on the internal network of the Committees
Web site 24 to 48 hours after a meeting. The official version is posted on the
Web site several days later.[737]
Transcripts of in camera committee meetings are not published. A
single hard copy is produced in the floor language. It is provided to the
committee clerk for the exclusive use of committee members and staff.
Committees make frequent use of press
releases to inform the public and the media about their work. Such releases
announce, for example, the launch of a study, the holding of a press conference
or the publication of a report.[738]
The instruction to the committee clerk to
prepare and distribute the press release may result from the adoption of a
motion by the committee,[739] or may be
issued by the committee Chair with the implied consent of the committee. The
clerk subsequently forwards the press release to the Press Gallery, which
arranges distribution to its members. The release may also be available on the
committee’s Web site.
Reports presented to the House and, where
applicable, the government’s responses to these reports are available on the Committees
Web site. Larger reports are usually also printed.[740]
Committees hold press conferences from time
to time to inform the public about their work, particularly after the
presentation of a report to the House. When a committee wishes to hold a press
conference, it adopts a motion to that effect, usually after adopting the
report.[741]
Radio and television broadcasts of
committee proceedings have existed for a number of years. Webcasts of committee
proceedings are also now available.
Broadcasting of committee proceedings is
governed by guidelines approved by the House.[742]
Only House of Commons Multimedia Services and members of the Parliamentary
Press Gallery currently have the right to broadcast the proceedings.
Those interested may obtain video and audio
recordings of committee proceedings from House of Commons Information Services,
upon request.
The House provides committees with
facilities for the broadcasting of all their public meetings, which can thus be
heard live on the Parliamentary Radio Network at specified frequencies.
Journalists wishing to make an audio recording of committee proceedings may do
so on site or remotely, but may not place a recording device on the table in
the meeting room.[743]
Pursuant to the Standing Orders, committees
may televise their hearings using facilities provided by the House and those
used by members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. When a committee wishes to
have its meetings outside the Parliamentary Precinct broadcast on radio or
television, it must seek special permission from the House.[744]
The decision to televise a committee
meeting may take the form of a committee motion to that effect,[745]
or may be made by the Chair with the implied consent of the members.
When televised, committee meetings are
broadcast live on the internal House network available within the Parliamentary
Precinct. Some meetings are televised live or recorded for subsequent broadcast
on the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC), available by cable or satellite
across Canada.
The guidelines for the broadcasting of
committee meetings by the electronic media set out the following principles,
among others:
Video
recording or broadcasting will be done from the commencement of the meeting and
will end only at a “natural break” in or at the end of the proceedings. Recording
shall be suspended during suspensions in the committee proceedings. (The media
will be free to use the videotape in whole or in part.)
Video
recording must respect the spirit of an “electronic Hansard”, and will be
subject to the same general guidelines, rules and policies as applied to the
broadcasting of the proceedings of the House itself. Generally, this means that
only the individual recognized by the Chair is to be filmed. Close-up shots (of
people or documents) and reaction shots, among others, are not permitted.
Video
recording of committee meetings is subject to the express condition that the
party so recording retain the original tape(s) for a period of 35 days, and
upon receipt of a request in writing from the Speaker of the House of Commons,
deliver forthwith the original tape(s) of any committee meeting videotaped
pursuant to these rules.
The
cameras must be in fixed positions while the committee is in session. Cameras
will not be allowed to move around the room while the committee is in session.
(Free roving cameras would continue for photo opportunities before the meeting
starts, or after it has been adjourned.)
No
more than three cameras will be permitted in a committee room at one time. Because
of space limitations, some rooms will be designated for a maximum of two
cameras. The electronic media will have to enter into reciprocal or pooling
arrangements among themselves.
Cameras
and other equipment must be set up and dismantled as quickly as possible to
minimize the disruption to previous or subsequent meetings in the same room.
The
existing room light and committee sound system are to be used.
Camera
operators will be required to be members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
A
member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery wishing to video-record a committee
meeting must provide the clerk of the committee with reasonable notice in all
circumstances prior to the meeting (such reasonableness to be determined by the
committee itself). Where the notice for the meeting is either issued or amended
during the 24 hour period prior to the meeting, the clerk must be notified at
least two hours in advance of the meeting.
The
electronic media will not be permitted to film those committee meetings that
are being filmed by the House of Commons Broadcasting Service, as they will
continue to have access to the feed from the House.[746]
The public proceedings of committees are available
live and on an archival basis by a webcasting service accessible via the Committees
Web site. When meetings are televised, users have access to the video as well
as the audio feeds of the meetings.
[512]
The following chapters of the Standing Orders contain provisions applicable to
committees: Chapter IV (Daily Program), Chapter VIII (Motions), Chapter IX
(Public Bills), Chapter X (Financial Procedures), Chapter XI (Private Members’
Business), Chapter XIV (Delegated Legislation) and Chapter XV (Private Bills).
[513]
Standing Order 116. The Standing Orders contain three exceptions to this basic
rule. For further information, see the section in this chapter entitled “Rules
of Debate and the Decision‑making Process”.
[514]
For an example of a rule adopted for a temporary situation, see Standing
Committee on International Trade, Minutes of Proceedings, November 2,
2006, Meeting No. 35.
[515]
For further information, see “Organization Meeting” under the section in this
chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
[516]
For a ruling by the Speaker pertaining to committee proceedings and accompanied
by provisos, see Debates, June 20, 1994, pp. 5582‑3. In that
instance, the Speaker ruled that the votes cast by a Member during the
committee’s proceedings on two bills were null and void because the Member did
not have the right to vote.
[517]
See the landmark ruling by Speaker Fraser on this subject (Debates,
March 26, 1990, pp. 9756-8). The Speaker nevertheless acknowledged that he
might have to rule on a committee-related issue in “very serious and special
circumstances” even though the committee did not report to the House. See also
Speaker Milliken’s observations (Debates, March 14, 2008, pp. 4181-3).
[518]
For example, committees, as with the House, observe the sub judice convention.
For a description of the convention, see Chapter 13, “Rules of Order and
Decorum”. See, for example, Standing Committee on Miscellaneous Estimates, Minutes
of Proceedings and Evidence, May 10, 1982, Issue No. 84, pp. 30, 34;
Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Minutes of Proceedings,
May 27, 1999, Meeting No. 146. However, the House is not prevented from
referring a matter to a committee because the matter is before the courts. See
the ruling by Speaker Sauvé, Debates, March 22, 1983, pp. 24027‑9.
[519]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and
Ethics, Evidence, November 20, 2007, pp. 8, 9. The Speaker of the House
regularly refers to this notion in his or her rulings. See, for example, Debates,
January 30, 2007, pp. 6174-5.
[520]
See comments by Speaker Milliken (Debates, November 21, 2002, pp.
1738-40; November 25, 2002, pp. 1841-2; November 26, 2002, pp. 1912-3; November
27, 2002, pp. 1949-50).
[521]Beauchesne, 6th ed., p. 222; Bourinot, 4th ed., p. 464.
[522]
For further information, see the section entitled “The Relationship Between Procedural
Sources” in Chapter 5, “Parliamentary Procedure”.
[523]
Standing Order 117. Unsolicited comments or disorder created by a witness or a
member of the audience could lead to the person being ejected from the meeting
room. See, for example, Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern
Development and Natural Resources, Evidence, April 8, 2003, Meeting No.
61; Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, Evidence,
August 11, 2008, Meeting No. 46, p. 3.
[524]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and
Ethics, Minutes of Proceedings, August 14, 2008, Meeting No. 49, Evidence,
pp. 31-2.
[525]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes
of Proceedings, January 31, 2008, Meeting No. 13, Evidence, pp. 6-7.
[526]
There have been occasions when a committee Chair has interrupted a member whose
observations or questions were deemed repetitive or unrelated to the matter
before the committee, and has given the floor to another member. See Standing
Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, Evidence, June
10, 2008, Meeting No. 40, pp. 13-4; as well as Speaker Milliken’s observations
in this regard (Debates, June 20, 2008, pp. 7229‑30).
[528]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development,
Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, Minutes of
Proceedings, April 19, 2005, Meeting No. 30.
[529]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes
of Proceedings, November 1, 2007, Meeting No. 2.
[530]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings,
February 21, 2005, Meeting No. 22.
[531]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings,
September 25, 2001, Meeting No. 23; September 26, 2001, Meeting No. 24;
December 10, 2002, Meetings Nos. 15 and 16.
[532]
Maingot, J.P.J., Parliamentary Privilege in Canada, 2nd ed., Montreal: House of Commons and McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1997, pp. 231‑2.
[533]
For an example of a study of a draft report on a question of privilege, see the
Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes of Proceedings, March 31,
2004, Meeting No. 18; April 1, 2004, Meeting No. 19.
[534]
For further information on questions of privilege in committee, see Chapter 3,
“Privileges and Immunities”.
[536]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern
Development and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings, April 2,
2003, Meeting No. 59.
[537]
In some cases, 36 hours’ notice has been required. See, for example, Standing
Committee on Finance, Minutes of Proceedings, November 13, 2007, Meeting
No. 1.
[538]
When they adopt rules on notice, some committees specify that notice be 24 or
48 actual hours.
[539]
In practice, if they are given advance notice, Chairs often set aside time at
the beginning or end of a meeting to debate motions with the implicit consent
of their committee.
[540]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development,
Minutes of Proceedings, November 13, 2007, Meeting No. 1.
[542]
Standing Order 118(2). For further information, see “Quorum and Call to Order /
"Reduced Quorum"” under the section in this chapter entitled
“Committee Proceedings”.
[543]
Since the overall atmosphere in which committee meetings are conducted is less
formal than in the House, motions are sometimes carried without being read by
the Chair.
[544]
There are no procedures in committee for deferring a vote as there are in the
House, but a committee can decide to defer a matter for further study at a
specific time rather than put it to an immediate vote.
[545]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Trade, Minutes of Proceedings, May 3, 2005, Meeting No. 36.
[546]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Natural Resources, Minutes of
Proceedings, April 16, 2008, Meeting No. 26. When a vote is held
during an in camera meeting, only the fact that a motion was carried is
recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings. The number of members voting for
or against the motion is not recorded.
[547]
The request must be made before the result of the vote is announced. Once the
Chair has announced the result, requests for a recorded vote on the question
that was subject to the vote are inadmissible.
[548]
See, for example, Standing Committee on the Status of Women, Minutes of
Proceedings, April 3, 2008, Meeting No. 25.
[549]
However, when a committee is studying a private bill, the Chair votes as a
regular member and casts the deciding vote in the event of an equality of
voices. Standing Order 141(3). For further information on private bills, see
Chapter 23, “Private Bills Practice”.
[550]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Trade, Minutes of Proceedings, March 8, 2005, Meeting No. 26. For
further information on casting votes, see Chapter 7, “The Speaker and
Other Presiding Officers of the House”.
[551]
This reflects the rule applicable to motions moved in the House (see Standing
Order 64). This can be done even if the member moving the motion is absent.
See, for example, Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, Minutes of
Proceedings, December 9, 2004, Meeting No. 16.
[553]
Unless the person moving the motion is replacing the regular member who gave
notice. For further information, see the section in this chapter entitled
“Committee Membership, Leadership and Staff”.
[554]
For further information, see Chapter 12, “The Process of Debate”.
[555]
See, for example, Legislative Committee on Bill C-2, Minutes of Proceedings,
May 9, 2006, Meeting No. 4.
[557]
It is important to differentiate between amendments to motions and amendments
to bills. For further information on amendments and subamendments, and the
rules governing their admissibility, see Chapter 12, “The Process of Debate”.
For further information on amendments to bills, see “Legislative Measures”
under the section in this chapter entitled “Studies Conducted by Committees”,
and Chapter 16, “The Legislative Process”.
[558]
For further information on dilatory motions, see Chapter 12, “The Process of
Debate”.
[559]
For example, if the words “until Monday” are added to the motion “That the
Committee adjourn”, the motion becomes debatable and amendable. See, for
example, Standing Committee on Finance, Minutes of Proceedings, April
13, 2000, Meeting No. 50.
[560]
See, for example, Standing Committee on International Trade, Minutes of
Proceedings, June 10, 2008, Meeting No. 35.
[561]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Minutes of
Proceedings, February 7, 2008, Meeting No. 14.
[562]
See Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Minutes
of Proceedings, March 10, 2005, Meeting No. 27, for a situation where the
motion “That the Committee proceed to consider the next order of business” was
moved in order to end the study of a bill and begin the consideration of the
supplementary estimates.
[564]
For further information about the previous question in the House, see Chapter
12, “The Process of Debate”, and Chapter 14, “The Curtailment of Debate”.
[565]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the
Status of Persons with Disabilities, Minutes of Proceedings, November 23,
1999, Meeting No. 5; Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes of
Proceedings, March 12, 2002, Meeting No. 43.
[566]
Once a committee has been organized, studies undertaken during a session
usually follow similar steps.
[567]
For further information on the method of electing a committee Chair and methods
of selecting Chairs, see “Methods of Designation” under the section in this
chapter entitled “Committee Membership, Leadership and Staff”.
[568]
Standing Order 113(3). When the Legislative Committee on Bill C‑72 failed
to meet within the prescribed period, Speaker Fraser stated that it would not
be appropriate for the Speaker to set a date for the first meeting of the
Committee. See Debates, March 14, 1988, pp. 13706‑7.
[569]
Standing Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings,
November 15, 2007, Meeting No. 1.
[570]
Standing Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings, November 15, 2007,
Meeting No. 1.
[572]
For further information on quorum and meetings without a quorum, see “Conduct
of Meetings” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee
Proceedings”.
[573]
Standing Committee on Finance, Minutes of Proceedings, November 13,
2007, Meeting No. 1.
[574]
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Minutes of
Proceedings, October 14, 2004, Meeting No. 1.
[575]
Section 4 of the Official Languages Act (R.S. 1985, c. 31
(4th Supp.)) and section 17 of the Constitution Act, 1982
(R.S. 1985, Appendix II, No. 44, Schedule B) give everyone the
right to use either English or French in their dealings with Parliament.
However, the right to submit a document does not include the right to have it
distributed and examined immediately. Howard P. Knopf, who appeared before
the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on April 20, 2004, took
legal action against the Speaker of the House on this point. Mr. Knopf
maintained that his rights had been violated when the Chair of the Committee,
in accordance with the Committee rule requiring that any document distributed to
members be bilingual, refused to distribute the documents that he had submitted
in English only. The Federal Court ruled on June 26, 2006, that Mr. Knopf’s
linguistic rights had not been violated and that the work of the Committee was
protected by parliamentary privilege. Mr. Knopf appealed the decision to the
Federal Court of Appeal, which dismissed it on November 5, 2007. He then appealed
to the Supreme Court of Canada, which also dismissed it on March 20, 2008.
[576]
Standing Committee on International Trade, Minutes of Proceedings,
November 15, 2007, Meeting No. 1.
[577]
Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Minutes of Proceedings,
November 13, 2007, Meeting No. 1.
[578] Standing Committee
on National Defence, Minutes of Proceedings, November 13, 2007, Meeting
No. 1.
[579]
For further information, see the Financial Management and Policy Guide for
Committees, prepared by the House of Commons Finance Services.
[580]
Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Minutes of Proceedings, November 13, 2007,
Meeting No. 1.
[581]
For further information about in camera meetings, see “Types of Meetings
and Activities” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee
Proceedings”.
[582]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable
Development, Minutes of Proceedings, November 15, 2007, Meeting No. 1.
[583]
Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament, Minutes of
Proceedings, February 26, 2004, Meeting No. 1.
[584]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Natural Resources, Minutes of
Proceedings, November 15, 2007, Meeting No. 1. A committee may also, at a later date, reconsider the disposition of transcripts of one or more in
camera meetings. See, for example, Standing Committee on Government
Operations and Estimates, Minutes of Proceedings, November 3, 2003,
Meeting No. 67.
[585]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes of
Proceedings, June 18, 2002, Meeting No. 62.
[586]
Standing Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings, November 15, 2007,
Meeting No. 1.
[587]
Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, Minutes of Proceedings,
November 14, 2007, Meeting No. 1.
[588]
For example, those regarding the use of video conferences (see, for example,
Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of
Persons with Disabilities, Minutes of Proceedings, May 8, 2008, Meeting
No. 29); and the adoption of a meeting schedule (see, for example,
Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of
Persons with Disabilities, Minutes of Proceedings, April 8, 2008,
Meeting No. 22). Joint committees must deal with a number of routine
matters specific to Senate committees which are not applicable to standing,
legislative and special committees of the House (see, for example, Standing
Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, Minutes of Proceedings,
November 15, 2007, Issue No. 1). Similarly, special and legislative
committees must decide on the timing of their meetings, since they are not
included in the “block system” for scheduling standing committee meetings (see,
for example, Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan, Minutes
of Proceedings, April 15, 2008, Meeting No. 1). For further
information on the scheduling system, see “Scheduling, Convening and Conduct of
Meetings” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
[589]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Development, Minutes of Proceedings, May 10, 2007, Meeting No. 55.
[590]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and
Communities, Minutes of Proceedings, November 22, 2007, Meeting No. 2.
[591]
Committees may opt to set aside a period of time for members of the audience to
make brief comments without having formally arranged for their appearance in
advance. See, for example, Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern
Development and Natural Resources, Evidence, March 31, 2003, Meeting No.
57.
[592]
Committees may sometimes hold meetings not for the purpose of preparing
recommendations for the House but simply in order to stay informed with respect
to an important topic within their mandate.
[593]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Minutes of
Proceedings, January 29, 2003, Meeting No. 18.
[594]
For further information, see the section in this chapter entitled “Committee
Powers”.
[595]
See, for example, Subcommittee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities of
the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons
with Disabilities, news release entitled “Parliament’s First On-Line
Consultation: The Future of the Canada Pension Plan Disability Program”,
December 5, 2002, and Standing Committee on Finance, news release entitled
“Pre-Budget Consultations 2008”, June 19, 2008.
[596]
See, for example, Subcommittee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities of
the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons
with Disabilities, Minutes of Proceedings, November 5, 2003, Meeting No.
18.
[597]
Town hall meetings are held primarily when committees meet outside the Parliamentary
Precinct. See, for example, Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans
Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, May 28, 1998, Meeting
No. 68.
[598]
Committees do not require special permission from the House to hold video
conference meetings.
[599]
See Bosc, M., “E-Democracy and the Work of Parliamentary Committees”, The
Table, Vol. 72, 2004, pp. 26-35.
[600]
The Subcommittee’s study dealt with the Canada Pension Plan Disability Program.
The members of the Subcommittee wanted not only to fulfill the usual objectives
of a parliamentary study but also to obtain the views of as many people as
possible in order to improve the program and, at the same time, engage the
Canadian public in the democratic process. The Subcommittee’s Web site gave all
Canadians an opportunity to watch the progress of its work and to contribute to
it in various ways. For example, the authors of briefs were able to submit them
in electronic form so that they would be accessible to all visitors to the Web
site. Visitors were also able to answer a poll on the Program. The Subcommittee
received input from some 1,700 people from various walks of life. This pilot
project involved a great deal of work and required a substantial investment of
human and financial resources by several branches of the House of Commons and
the Library of Parliament. The final report of this study was presented to the
House in June 2003. See the Fifth Report of the Standing Committee on Human
Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, presented to
the House on June 12, 2003 (Journals, p. 914).
[601]
The purpose of the consultation was to obtain Canadians’ views on the questions
raised by the Government’s International Policy Statement (IPS). The
consultation was based on an online form composed of multiple-choice and open
questions. Respondents were able to complete the form on the Internet or print
it and mail it to the Committee. More than 4,000 people participated. See
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, International
Policy Statement (IPS) Online Consultation: Report of the E‑Consultation
on the Government’s April 2005 International Policy Statement Conducted by the
House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade,
October to November 2005, prepared by A. Goody, M. Pistor and
G. Schmitz, Library of Parliament, April 13, 2006.
[602]
First Report of the Special Committee on the Modernization and Improvement of
the Procedures of the House of Commons, presented to the House on June 1, 2001
(Journals, p. 465) and concurred in by the House on October 4, 2001
(Journals, pp. 691-3), following the adoption of a Special Order (Journals,
October 3, 2001, p. 685).
[603]Parliament of Canada Act, R.S. 1985, c. P‑1,
ss. 10(3) and 11. The forms of the oath and solemn affirmation are defined
by section 13(2) of the Act, and are set out in the Schedule attached to
it.
[604]
At various times, committees have sworn in the Prime Minister, the Auditor
General, senior public servants and members of the Privy Council. See, for
example, Special Committee on Certain Charges and Allegations made by George N.
Gordon, Minutes of Proceedings, March 3, 1932; Standing
Committee on Labour, Employment and Immigration, Minutes of Proceedings and
Evidence, January 28, 1987, Issue No. 20, pp. 3‑4,
9‑14, and Speaker Fraser’s ruling, Debates,
March 17, 1987, pp. 4265‑6; Standing Committee on Public
Accounts, Minutes of Proceedings, May 3, 2004, Meeting No. 39; Standing
Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, Minutes of
Proceedings, February 5, 2008, Meeting No. 13. A committee may also decide to swear in all witnesses appearing before it in connection with a
particular study. See, for example, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes
of Proceedings, April 14 and 19, 2004, Meetings Nos. 24 and 25.
[605]
See Speaker Fraser’s ruling, Debates, March 17, 1987,
pp. 4265‑6.
[606]
See, for example, the case of George Radwanski in the Ninth Report of the
Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, presented to the House
on November 4, 2003 (Journals, p. 1225), and the motion agreed
to by the House on November 6, 2003 (Journals, pp. 1245,
1249); the case of Barbara George in the Third Report of the Standing
Committee on Public Accounts, presented to the House on February 12, 2008 (Journals,
p. 423), and the motion agreed to by the House on April 10, 2008 (Journals,
p. 685).
[607]
The length of the question period and the order in which questions are posed
are matters that are decided by the committee. See “Routine Motions” under the
section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”. In view of the less
formal atmosphere that prevails in committee, committee members often exercise
greater latitude with respect to these matters.
[608]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Evidence,
February 19, 2004, Meeting No. 4. Committees have, on occasion, authorized
committee staff to question witnesses. Such cases tend to arise when a
technical subject matter is under consideration. See, for example, Standing
Committee on Communications and Culture, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence,
December 3, 1986, Issue No. 8, p. 3.
[609]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes of
Proceedings, March 19, 2004, Meeting No. 11; Standing
Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, Minutes of
Proceedings, December 4, 2007, Meeting No. 6. The Standing Committee on
Public Accounts also recommended that the government pay the legal fees of
public servants called to testify in its study of the sponsorship program. The government
stated that such a policy was already in place in the form of the Policy on
the Indemnification of and Legal Assistance for Crown Servants. See the
Second Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, presented to the
House on October 28, 2004 (Journals, p. 164) and the government’s
response to the Report, presented to the House on March 23, 2005 (Journals,
p. 557).
[610]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Trade, Evidence, March 19, 2002, Meeting No. 65; Standing Committee
on Public Accounts, Evidence, June 6, 2007, Meeting No. 64, p. 13.
However, the Standing Orders provide that, when a standing committee calls the
appointee or nominee to a non‑judicial post to appear before it, the
committee is restricted to examining matters relating to the individual’s
ability to perform the duties of the position. For further information, see
“Order‑in‑Council Appointments” under the section in this chapter
entitled “Types of Studies Conducted”.
[611]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Elections, Privileges and Procedure, Minutes
of Proceedings and Evidence, February 3, 1988, Issue No. 20,
pp. 25‑8.
[614]
For a discussion on this question, see Ontario Law Reform Commission, Report
on Witnesses Before Legislative Committees, Toronto: Ministry of the
Attorney General, 1981, pp. 25‑45; Bourgault, J., “Les relations
entre l’administration publique et le Parlement”, Le parlementarisme
canadien, 3rd ed., rev. and enlarged, edited by R. Pelletier and
M. Tremblay, Saint‑Nicolas, Quebec: Les Presses de l’Université
Laval, 2005, pp. 387-8.
[615]
See, for example, Legislative Committee on Bill C-2, Minutes of Proceedings,
May 4, 2006, Meeting No. 2.
[616]
See, for example, Standing Committee on National Resources and Public Works,
Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, November 27, 1979, Issue
No. 6, p. 4; Standing Committee on Communications and Culture, Minutes
of Proceedings and Evidence, February 4, 1988, Issue No. 73,
pp. 7, 45; Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Minutes of
Proceedings and Evidence, June 18, 1996, Issue No. 2,
p. 7; Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, Evidence,
March 17, 2003, Meeting No. 14; Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Evidence,
June 6, 2007, Meeting No. 64, pp. 12-3.
[617]
See the Thirteenth Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts entitled
“Protocol for the Appearance of Accounting Officers as Witnesses Before the
Standing Committee on Public Accounts”, p. 4, presented to the House on March
27, 2007 (Journals, pp. 1161-2); Journals, May 15, 2007, pp.
1409-10. See also Murphy, S., “The Appearance of Accounting Officers before the
Public Accounts Committee”, Canadian Parliamentary Review, Vol. 30, No. 2,
Summer 2007, pp. 4-6. In the article, Mr. Murphy notes the government’s
reaction to the protocol.
[618]
As with Members, freedom of speech is extended to the testimony given by
witnesses before committees and has been held to include protection from any
possible prosecution. The House may waive this protection if it sees fit (see,
for example, Journals, April 12, 1892, pp. 234‑5).
It is the responsibility of each committee to see that witnesses do not take
advantage of this protection to utter defamatory remarks which might give rise
to legal proceedings were they made elsewhere. See Speaker Fraser’s ruling, Debates,
March 16, 1993, pp. 17071‑2. The question of parliamentary
privilege relating to the protection of statements made by witnesses in
committee was raised in connection with the study of the sponsorship program by
the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (see the Third Report of the Standing
Committee on Public Accounts, presented to the House on November 5, 2004 (Journals,
p. 202), and the Fourteenth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and
House Affairs, presented to the House on November 18, 2004 (Journals,
pp. 232-3)); and in connection with the testimony of Barbara George,
Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in the Twentieth
Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, presented to the House on
June 15, 2007 (Journals, p. 1543). In both cases, the House concurred in
the recommendations of the committees reaffirming the protection of testimony
under parliamentary privilege (Journals, November 15, 2004, pp. 212-4; November 18, 2004,
pp. 232-3; June 15, 2007, p. 1543). See also Chapter 3, “Privileges and
Immunities”.
[619]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, Minutes
of Proceedings, June 12, 2003, Meeting No. 52.
[620]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, Minutes
of Proceedings, June 17, 2003, Meeting No. 54; Subcommittee
on Solicitation Laws of the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public
Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Minutes of Proceedings, March 15,
2005, Meeting No. 12.
[621]
See, for example, Journals, December 4, 1992, p. 2284;
February 18, 1993, p. 2528; February 25, 1993,
p. 2568; Standing Committee on House Management, Minutes of Proceedings
and Evidence, February 18, 1993, Issue No. 46, pp. 7‑11.
[622]
See Speaker Fraser’s ruling, Debates, March 16, 1993,
pp. 17071‑2.
[623]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, Minutes
of Proceedings, October 26, 2004, Meeting No. 4.
[624]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes of
Proceedings, April 18, 2002, Meeting No. 48, Evidence. The agreement
with the National Archives (now Library and Archives Canada) is recorded in the
Journals of April 13, 1994, pp. 339‑40.
[625]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, Minutes
of Proceedings, March 29, 2004, Meeting No. 11.
[626]
See, for example, Standing Committee on International Trade, Minutes of
Proceedings, June 16, 2008, Meeting No. 36.
[627]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable
Development, Minutes of Proceedings, April 12, 2005, Meeting No. 32.
[628]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, Minutes
of Proceedings, May 1, 2007, Meeting No. 41. To assist it in drafting a
report on a complex study, a committee may wish to retain the services of a
consultant, who will normally have been present when the witnesses appeared.
See, for example, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Minutes of
Proceedings, May 6, 2003, Meeting No. 38.
[629]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Minutes of
Proceedings, May 6, 2003, Meeting No. 38; June 12, 2008, Meeting
No. 36.
[630]
Reports presented by a committee are numbered consecutively from the beginning
of each session. Standing committees do not usually give official titles to
their reports, except in the case of substantive reports of more than 10 pages.
[631]
Standing Orders 30(3) and 35. For further information on the Daily Routine of
Business, see Chapter 10, “The Daily Program”. If the report deals with the
main estimates of a department or agency and the period allotted for its
consideration has been extended at the request of the Leader of the Opposition,
the House may, on the final day allotted for presentation of the report,
interrupt its deliberations and return to the rubric “Presentation of Committee
Reports” for that purpose (Standing Order 81(4)(c)). The Centennial
Flame Research Award Act, passed in 1991, requires an annual report by the
previous year’s recipient of the award to be presented to Parliament. The report
is tabled by the Chair of the committee responsible for considering the application
of the Act (currently the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and
Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities), but is not
deemed to be a report of that committee. Since the Standing Orders do not
provide for the tabling of documents by Members of the House other than Ministers
and the Speaker, presentation of this annual report has varied. It has been
presented under “Tabling of Documents” and “Presentation of Committee Reports”,
and has been tabled with the Clerk pursuant to Standing Order 32(1). See S.C.
1991, c. 17, s. 7(1); Journals, June 14, 1993,
p. 3204; December 13, 1994, p. 1043; April 23, 1997, pp. 1515‑6;
May 12, 1998, p. 775; June 10, 1999, p. 2090; November 28,
2005, p. 1349; April 30, 2007, p. 1294.
[632]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, Minutes of
Proceedings, May 13, 2008, Meeting No. 25; Journals, May
28, 2008, p. 858. Joint committees present their reports to both Houses.
See, for example, Journals, December 4, 2007, p. 256, Journals
of the Senate, p. 215.
[633]
Typically, this is done by one of the Vice-Chairs (see, for example, Journals,
April 2, 2008, p. 631). It can also be done by a regular member of the
committee (see, for example, Journals, June 13, 2008, p. 986). The Chair
of a subcommittee conducting a special study presented the resulting report by
the main committee to the House. See, for example, Debates,
December 3, 1998, p. 10825.
[634]
Standing Order 35(1). See, for example, Debates, May 26, 2008, p. 6002.
That rule resulted from a recommendation of the McGrath Committee that “there
should be a better method of bringing [reports] to the attention of the House”.
See the Third Report of the Special Committee on House of Commons Reform,
p. 24, presented to the House on June 18, 1985 (Journals,
p. 839).
[635]
Standing Order 35(2). See, for example, Debates, April 2, 1998, p. 5675.
[636]
See, for example, Debates, February 21, 2002, pp. 9064-5.
[637]
See, for example, Journals, December 10, 2004, p. 337; June 20, 2008, p.
1032. By permitting presentation in this manner, the House enables committees
to make their reports public at completion without breaching the privileges of
the House or its Members. The House has, on occasion, made specific provisions
for releasing a report to the public prior to its presentation in the House (see,
for example, Journals, December 22, 1982, pp. 5495‑6).
[638]
A question of privilege was raised after a committee member disclosed the
content of a draft report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and
Immigration. Speaker Parent reserved his decision after the committee made a
report to that effect. A week later, Speaker Parent ruled that the
disclosure constituted a prima facie question of privilege. A motion to
refer the question of privilege to the Standing Committee on Procedure and
House Affairs was moved, but the Member concerned apologized and the motion was
defeated (Debates, March 17, 2000, pp. 4805-6; March 21, 2000,
pp. 4959-62; March 28, 2000, pp. 5368-9, 5384-6; Journals, March
29, 2000, pp. 1503-4; First Report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and
Immigration, presented to the House on March 21, 2000 (Journals, p.
1413)).
[639]
The issue of leaked committee reports has been addressed many times. See, for
example, the ruling by Speaker Parent, Debates, November 26, 1998,
pp. 10467‑8; December 3, 1998, p. 10866. The Standing Committee
on Procedure and House Affairs studied the issue of confidentiality with
respect to in camera proceedings and confidential committee documents
and made recommendations in its Seventy-Third Report, presented to the House on
April 29, 1999 (Journals, p. 1785). The issue has
nevertheless been brought up several times since, and questions of privilege
have been raised. See, for example, Debates, March 21, 2002,
pp. 9957-60; April 16, 2002, pp. 10463-4; December 12, 2002, pp. 2639-40;
January 27, 2003, pp. 2734-5, February 6, 2003, pp. 3256-8; February
10, 2003, pp. 3361-3; February 13, 2003, pp. 3505-6, February 25, 2003, pp.
3986-7; October 19, 2006, pp. 3970‑2; October 25, 2006, p. 4235;
June 12, 2008, pp. 6893-5. In other cases, committees reported on the
issue to the House. See, for example, Journals, February 27, 2007,
p. 1073; March 2, 2007, p. 1096; March 28, 2007, p. 1171.
[640]
See, for example, Debates, September 29, 1994, p. 6314; April 19,
1996, p. 1711; December 4, 2001, p. 7841.
[641]
Standing Order 109. This provision was added to the Standing Orders following a
recommendation in the Third Report of the Lefebvre Committee. See Special
Committee on Standing Orders and Procedure, Minutes of Proceedings and
Evidence, November 4, 1982, Issue No. 7, pp. 21, 29; Journals,
November 29, 1982, p. 5400. Amendments to the Standing Orders in
2005 changed the initial period of 150 days to 120 days. There have been cases
where a Member obtained the unanimous consent of the House to present a revised
committee report requesting a response from the government. See, for example, Journals,
June 22, 2005, p. 958, Debates, p. 7624. Further, as a result
of an administrative omission to include the request for a government response
in a report, the Chair of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and
Northern Development raised a point of order to obtain permission from the
Speaker to table a new copy of the report. The Speaker directed the Clerk of
the House to make appropriate administrative arrangements (Journals, May 9, 2007,
p. 1375, Debates, p. 9253). One committee presented a report withdrawing
the request for a government response to a previously tabled report (Fifth
Report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, presented to the House
on June 22, 2006 (Journals, pp. 345-6)).
[643]
See, for example, Debates, April 21, 1986, p. 12480; June 29, 1987,
pp. 7749‑50; September 24, 1987, pp. 9266‑8. The
Standing Committee on Public Accounts studied the government’s responses to
recommendations it made and the impact those recommendations had on what
departments do (Sixth Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts,
presented to the House on February 25, 2008 (Journals, p. 461)).
[644]
Standing Order 32(1). See, for example, Journals, April 10, 2008, p.
685; June 6, 2008, p. 939.
[645]
See, for example, Journals, February 2, 2004, p. 5; September 18, 2006,
p. 379. For further information on the tabling of documents, see Chapter 10,
“The Daily Program”.
[646]
See, for example, Debates, September 10, 1992, p. 12977.
[647]
Recommendations not clearly in the form of motions may require further action
in order to be implemented. See Speaker Parent’s ruling, Debates,
November 5, 1998, p. 9923.
[648]
Standing Orders 54 and 109. See Journals, February 18, 2005, pp. 454-5.
The House often agrees to waive the 48 hours’ notice required by the Standing
Orders in order to obtain unanimous consent to concur in certain reports, such
as reports on changes to the membership of committees.
[649]
Standing Order 66(2). For further information, see Chapter 10, “The Daily
Program”.
[651]
See ruling by Speaker Bosley, Debates, December 13, 1985, p. 9476.
[652]
See, for example, Journals, March 18, 1987, p. 610; May 9, 2005, p.
721. Following Confederation, amendments to the text of committee reports were
occasionally permitted in the House. See, for example, Journals,
June 21, 1869, p. 304; March 26, 1884, p. 285. In
1919, Speaker Rhodes ruled that it was not in order for the House to amend the
report itself. See Journals, May 22, 1919, pp. 293‑4.
[657]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Minutes
of Proceedings, June 4, 2008, Meeting No. 48.
[658]
See, for example, Journals, August 1, 1940, pp. 310‑6;
Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs, Minutes of
Proceedings, May 31, 2005, Meeting No. 40.
[659]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes
of Proceedings, October 25, 2005, Meeting No. 49; November 27, 2007,
Meeting No. 7.
[660]
In April 2004, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts released, with the
witness’ consent, evidence that had been given in camera during a previous
session in 2002. A point of order was raised in the House questioning the Committee’s
authority in that regard. Speaker Milliken ruled that it was the responsibility
of the Committee to take such measures as it saw fit (Standing Committee on
Public Accounts, Minutes of Proceedings, April 1, 2004, Meeting No. 19, Debates,
pp. 1944-5, 1968-9).
[661]
Only the text of motions adopted by a committee during in camera
meetings appear in the committee’s Minutes of Proceedings; neither the
names nor the number of members who voted for or against the motion is
recorded. Motions that have been negatived are not recorded. See, for example,
Standing Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings, December 11, 2007,
Meeting No. 7. Matters dealt with at in camera meetings may be recorded
in the Minutes should the committee so decide. The clerk of the committee
may also be requested to keep more detailed, confidential minutes for the
exclusive use of the committee. These detailed minutes, usually referred to as
in extenso minutes, do not form part of the public record of the
committee’s proceedings.
[662]
Simultaneous interpretation is nevertheless provided during these meetings.
[663]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable
Development, Minutes of Proceedings, June 28, 2005, Meeting No. 50;
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Minutes
of Proceedings, May 10, 2007, Meeting No. 55. For further information, see
“Routine Motions” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee
Proceedings”.
[664]
See Speaker Fraser’s ruling, Debates, May 14, 1987,
pp. 6108‑11, and the Seventh Report of the Standing Committee on
Elections, Privileges and Procedure, presented to the House on
December 18, 1987 (Journals, pp. 2014‑6). The case
in question involved the divulgation by John Parry (Kenora–Rainy River) of the results of a recorded vote held at an in camera meeting of the Standing
Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (Debates,
March 25, 1987, p. 4540; April 28, 1987, pp. 5329‑30;
May 5, 1987, pp. 5737‑42). See also Speaker Milliken’s
ruling, Debates, May 31, 2005, pp. 6414-5; June 9, 2005, pp. 6902-3. A committee may itself decide that a meeting held in camera should be declared a public
meeting. See, for example, Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of
Regulations, Minutes of Proceedings, November 5, 1998, Meeting
No. 15; Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes of Proceedings,
June 18, 2002, Meeting No. 62.
[665]
Committees may also meet in a regular committee setting with such delegations.
Even in these cases, the usual format is relaxed. The proceedings are primarily
an exchange of views rather than a gathering of evidence from witnesses. See,
for example, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Minutes
of Proceedings, March 19, 1998, Meeting No. 40; Standing
Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes of Proceedings, October 4, 2005,
Meeting No. 46; Standing Committee on National Defence, Minutes of
Proceedings, November 6, 2006, Meeting No. 21.
[666]
A committee has met informally with witnesses after a regular meeting. After
the Chair of the Standing Committee on International Trade interrupted a
witness and the Committee overturned the decision on that interruption, the
Chair adjourned the meeting. The Committee then continued to meet informally so
that the witness could resume his testimony and the other witnesses who were to
follow could address the Committee. A transcript of that informal part of the
meeting was nevertheless produced. At the next meeting, the Committee agreed to
append the evidence from that “informal” part of the meeting to the evidence
from the official part of the meeting. See Standing Committee on International
Trade, Minutes of Proceedings, May 10, 2007, Meeting No. 62; May
15, 2007, Meeting No. 63.
[667]
Committee members may attend a conference or symposium on a subject related to
the committee’s mandate. Such attendance is not an official committee activity.
Consequently, neither the participating members nor the committee is required
to make a report. See, for example, Standing Committee on Public Safety and
National Security, Minutes of Proceedings, October 17, 2006, Meeting No.
13; Journals, October 20, 2006, p. 557; Standing Committee on Public
Accounts, Minutes of Proceedings, April 8, 2008, Meeting No. 25; Journals,
April 28, 2008, p. 733.
[668]
Committee members may occasionally leave the committee room in order to tour a
facility or observe a situation. For example, the Standing Committee on
Veterans Affairs visited veterans’ hospitals (Minutes of Proceedings,
November 1, 2006, Meeting No. 15; Journals, November 6, 2006, p. 639),
and the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security attended a “use
of force” demonstration at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Headquarters (Minutes
of Proceedings, March 3, 2008, Meeting No. 20; Journals, March 13, 2008,
p. 599).
[669]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, Minutes of
Proceedings, November 1, 2006, Meeting No. 15; Standing Committee on
National Defence, Minutes of Proceedings, April 10, 2008, Meeting
No. 21. For further information on obtaining the necessary funds, see “Funding
of Activities” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee
Proceedings”.
[670]
The motion ordinarily indicates the dates on which the committee is authorized
to travel, the locations which it may visit and whether staff will accompany
the committee. See, for example, Journals, February 8, 2005, p. 399; May
6, 2008, p. 767. Where it seems likely that a special committee will require
this power, it is often included in the order of reference establishing the
committee. See, for example, Journals, November 28, 2002, p. 236. In some cases, permission to travel has applied only to a member of a committee’s staff (see,
for example, Journals, October 23, 2003, p. 1161) or the motion has not
indicated the travel dates for security reasons (visit to a high-risk area of
Afghanistan; see, for example, Journals, October 16, 2006, p. 523).
Similarly, it has happened that the wording of a motion has been left vague about
the places that will be visited. See, for example, Journals, December 4,
2001, p. 897; October 7, 2005, p. 1153. It is a rare occurrence, but some
motions may provide more information on the members who will be travelling.
See, for example, Journals, April 24, 2001, pp. 320-1.
Permission to travel is usually given by adopting a motion with unanimous
consent. However, if the House is not unanimous, Standing Order 56.2 provides a
separate mechanism to authorize a committee to travel. The Standing Order was
adopted in October 2001, on the recommendation of the Special Committee on the
Modernization and Improvement of the Procedures of the House of Commons, but it
has never been used.
[671]
See, for example, Journals, April 28, 2008, p. 733; June 4, 2008, p.
914.
[672]
Exceptionally in 1996, the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri‑Food
held a formal meeting in the Canadian embassy in Washington. See Minutes of
Proceedings, May 28, 1996, Meeting No. 23.
[673]
A point of order was raised in the House after the Standing Committee on
Transport held a meeting in a room in the Parliamentary Restaurant when it was
unable to find a committee room free at the time required. The Government House
Leader contested the admissibility of the report adopted at that meeting for
various reasons, including the presumed lack of simultaneous interpretation and
a recording of the proceedings. Deputy Speaker Kilger dismissed these arguments
and ruled the report admissible, since the meeting was in camera and no
member present at the meeting had objected (Debates, May 29, 2003, pp.
6643‑6; June 3, 2003, pp. 6773-5; Standing Committee on Transport, Minutes
of Proceedings, May 28, 2003, Meeting No. 30).
[674]
See, for example, Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, Minutes
of Proceedings, November 15, 2007, Issue No. 1; Subcommittee on Bill C-28
of the Standing Committee on Finance, Minutes of Proceedings, December
4, 2007, Meeting No. 1. A committee may meet more than once on the same day, or
hold a meeting that extends over more than one calendar day. See, for example,
Standing Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings, December 3, 2002,
Meetings Nos. 10 and 11; Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern
Development and Natural Resources, Minutes of Proceedings, April 29,
2003, Meeting No. 65.
[675]
Use of this system of rotating blocks of time began in the fall of 2001. See
the First Report of the Special Committee on the Modernization and Improvement
of the Proceedings of the House of Commons, pp. 21-2, presented to the House on
June 1, 2001 (Journals, p. 465) and concurred in on October 4, 2001
(Journals, pp. 691-3), pursuant to a Special Order (Journals,
October 3, 2001, p. 685). Since the system has been in use, the
Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs has not reported to the House
on issues concerning the use of committee rooms, as it is empowered to do pursuant
to Standing Order 115(4). Committees meeting in
locations other than the committee rooms on Parliament Hill are not bound by
the room priorities established by the Standing Committee on Procedure and
House Affairs or by the Whips of the recognized parties.
[676]
Standing Order 115(2). When the House is not sitting, priority is given to
meetings of standing, special and joint committees in accordance with a
schedule established by the Chief Government Whip in consultation with the
other parties (Standing Order 115(3)).
[677]
Standing Order 115(1). This rule applies even when committees meet elsewhere
than in a committee room in the Parliamentary Precinct.
[678]
See Speaker Macnaughton’s ruling, Debates, October 28, 1963,
pp. 4283-4.
[679]
The decision may be made through the adoption of a motion by the committee or
the adoption of the recommendations of its subcommittee on agenda and
procedure. See, for example, Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration,
Minutes of Proceedings, June 4, 2008, Meeting No. 48.
[680]
The Chair may consult committee members on this point. See, for example,
Standing Committee on Official Languages, Minutes of Proceedings, June
10, 2008, Meeting No. 38. See also Speaker Lamoureux’s decision, Debates,
March 3, 1967, p. 13704. The exception to the convening of a
committee by its Chair is the organization meeting for a standing or special
committee, which is convened by the Clerk of the House.
[681]
A joint committee may, if it wishes, adopt a motion to regulate the convening
or cancellation of its meetings, as the case may be. See, for example, Special
Joint Committee on Official Languages, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence,
March 9‑11, 1982, Issue No. 37, pp. 3‑4, 6‑13.
[682]
See, for example, Journals, April 2, 1957, p. 362; April
18, 1957, p. 421.
[683]
Standing Order 106(4). The practice has been not to apply this Standing Order
to standing joint committees.
[684]
The request must bear the original signatures of the Members.
[685]
See Speaker Parent’s decision, Debates, March 15, 1999, pp. 12866-8.
[686]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Minutes of
Proceedings, August 26, 2008, Meeting No. 38.
[687]
The 48 hours’ prior notice is included in the five calendar days. See, for
example, Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Minutes of
Proceedings, May 14, 2008, Meeting No. 26.
[688]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes
of Proceedings, February 12, 2008, Meeting No. 15. Such a meeting has been
convened on a question of confidence in the Chair of the committee, and the
meeting concluded with the contested election of a new Chair (Standing
Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, March
6, 2008, Meeting No. 19).
[689]
When a Member complained to the House that the Chair of the Standing Committee
on Transport and Government Operations had cancelled a meeting without
consulting committee members, Speaker Milliken ruled that the Committee was
master of its own proceedings and had to resolve the issue itself (Debates,
March 19, 2001, pp. 1836-7). The Standing Committee on Official Languages
dismissed its Chair after he cancelled a meeting unilaterally (Minutes of
Proceedings, May 15, 2007, Meeting No. 54).
[690]
See, for example, Special Joint Committee on Official Languages, Minutes of
Proceedings and Evidence, March 11, 1982, Issue No. 37, p. 4.
[691]
As in the House, members need not be in their places in order to be counted.
For further information on quorum in the House, see Chapter 9, “Sittings of the
House”. Attendance via teleconference or video conference does not count for
the purposes of quorum. See, for example, Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans,
Minutes of Proceedings, March 10, 2005, Meeting No. 27.
[692]
Standing Order 118(1). There is no requirement for members forming a
quorum to be from any recognized government or opposition party.
[693]
See, for example, the First Report of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny
of Regulations, presented to the House and concurred in on November 21, 2007
(Journals, pp. 186‑7).
[694]
The quorum of standing joint committees is usually less than a majority of
members. For example, in the case of the Standing Joint Committee for the
Scrutiny of Regulations, the quorum was set at four members, whereas a simple
majority would require a quorum of 11 (since there were 20 members in the
Second Session of the Thirty-Ninth Parliament). See the First Report of the
Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, presented to the
House and concurred in on November 21, 2007 (Journals, pp. 186‑7).
[695]
For example, a committee confirmed this practice in a routine motion (Standing
Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings, October 19, 2004, Meeting
No. 1). The practice is based on that of the House.
[697]
In the case of House committees, it is often specified that an opposition Member
must be present. In the case of joint committees, it is usually required that
both Houses be represented within the reduced quorum. See, for example, the
First Report of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament,
presented to the House on December 4, 2007 (Journals, p. 256).
[698]
See, for example, Special Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, Minutes
of Proceedings, October 10, 2002, Meeting No. 1. For another example, see
“Routine Motions” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee
Proceedings”.
[700]
Speaker Milliken expressed reservations about the power of a committee to suspend
proceedings to the next day, after the Standing Committee on Transport did so
when it lost quorum. See Standing Committee on Transport, Minutes of
Proceedings, May 28, 2003, Meeting No. 30; Debates, June
3, 2003, pp. 6773-5.
[701]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Transport, Minutes of Proceedings,
May 26, 2003, Meeting No. 29.
[702]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings,
December 2, 2002, Meeting No. 8, Evidence.
[703]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and
Ethics, Evidence, July 16, 2008, p. 6.
[704]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Evidence,
December 6, 2007, Meeting No. 6.
[705]
Standing Order 115(5). See, for example, Standing Committee on Public Accounts,
Minutes of Proceedings, June 12, 2008, Meeting No. 39; Standing Committee
on Government Operations and Estimates, Minutes of Proceedings, June 19,
2008, Meeting No. 37.
[706]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Finance, Minutes of Proceedings,
June 16, 2008, Meeting No. 50.
[707]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes
of Proceedings, May 15, 2007, Meeting No. 51.
[708]
See, for example, Special Joint Committee on a Renewed Canada, Minutes of
Proceedings and Evidence, November 13, 1991, Issue No. 19, p. 3.
Although such adjournments can result in the interruption of a committee study
ordered by the House, the Speaker has declined to intervene (Debates,
February 26, 1992, pp. 7620‑4).
[709]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and
Ethics, Minutes of Proceedings, July 16, 2008, Meeting No. 45.
[710]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Health, Evidence, May 1, 2008,
Meeting No. 26, p. 18.
[711]
Standing Order 117. For further information on disorder and misconduct, see “Committees
and Questions of Procedure and Privilege” under the section in this chapter
entitled “Committee Proceedings”. See, for example, Standing Committee on
Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, January 31, 2008, Evidence,
Meeting No. 13, pp. 6‑7. The Chair of the Standing Committee on
International Trade adjourned a meeting which, in his view, had become
disorderly. His decision was contested, and he had to justify it at the next
meeting (Standing Committee on International Trade, Minutes of Proceedings,
May 10, 2007, Meeting No. 62; May 15, 2007, Meeting No. 63; Evidence,
May 15, 2007, Meeting No. 63, pp. 1-2).
[715]
Standing Order 107. The associate members of the Liaison Committee include all
Vice‑Chairs of standing committees and Members who are Vice‑Chairs
of standing joint committees, and other Members designated by the Standing
Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
[716]
This is subject to the Board’s approval. See Standing Order 107(1).
[717]
Standing Order 107(3). It rarely does so, however. A report on the efficiency
of committees prepared by the Liaison Committee in the last years of the
Thirty-Fifth Parliament (1994-97) was not presented to the House, but was
forwarded directly to interested parties. See “Committee Effectiveness”, Occasional
Papers onParliamentary Government, No. 4, September 1997.
[720]
Standing Order 107(1)(b). This provision is designed to give a voice to
opposition parties other than the Official Opposition. The Standing Orders in
fact provide for the Chairs of standing committees and House Joint‑Chairs
of standing joint committees, that is, the members of the Liaison Committee, to
be Members of the government party, with a few exceptions for Members of the Official
Opposition (see Standing Order 106(2)). In this context, the other opposition
parties cannot have Members on the Liaison Committee.
[722]
Since they report to both Houses of Parliament, standing joint committees
sometimes take more time before holding their organization meetings. The first
meeting of the Liaison Committee often has to be called before both standing
joint committees have had time to elect Joint Chairs. For example, in the
Second Session of the Thirty-Ninth Parliament, the Liaison Committee held its
first meeting on November 22, 2007 (Minutes of Proceedings, Meeting No. 1),
but the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament did not elect its
Joint‑Chairs until November 29, 2007 (Minutes of Proceedings,
Meeting No. 1).
[723]
For an example of an election, see Subcommittee on Committee Budgets of the
Liaison Committee, Minutes of Proceedings, June 1, 2006, Meeting No. 1.
For an example of designation, see Liaison Committee, Minutes of Proceedings,
November 22, 2007, Meeting No. 1.
[724]
A standing committee may decide to maintain tight control over its
subcommittees’ funding and budgets, in which case the Chair and the clerk of
the main committee retain full financial authority and approve all subcommittee
financial operations. The other option is for the subcommittee Chair to be
given signing authority once the subcommittee’s budget has been approved by the
Liaison Committee. While this gives the subcommittee greater leeway, the main
committee may still exercise overall control over the subcommittee’s budget.
[725]
Costs are shared by both Houses in proportion to the number of Members and
Senators serving on the committee. The usual ratio is 70 percent for the
House and 30 percent for the Senate.
[726]
For further information, see the Financial Management and Policy Guide for
Committees, prepared by the House of Commons Finance Services.
[727]
For further information on the impact of prorogation and dissolution on the
financial practices of committees, see the section in this chapter entitled “Committee
Lifespans”.
[728]
For the amounts currently allocated, see the Financial Management and Policy
Guide for Committees, prepared by the House of Commons Finance Services.
[730]
Standing Order 121(4). See, for example, Journals, June 13, 2007, p.
1530.
[731]
The site is accessible through the Parliament of Canada Web site at www.parl.gc.ca.
[732]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and
the Status of Persons with Disabilities, Notice of Meeting for Meeting
No. 23, scheduled for April 10, 2008.
[733]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Development, Amended Notice of Meeting for Meeting No. 15, scheduled for
August 1, 2008.
[734]
Some information about in camera meetings is not provided. For further
information, see “In Camera Meetings” under the section in this
chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
[735]
Meetings are numbered consecutively from the beginning of each session.
[736]
See, for example, Special Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, Minutes
of Proceedings, April 25, 2002, Meeting No. 40.
[737]
The availability of committee Evidence has been the subject of questions
of privilege and points of order with respect to the report stage of a bill.
Speakers have always ruled that there is nothing to prevent the House from
moving to the report stage of a bill before the Evidence of committee
meetings on the bill in question becomes available in one or both official
languages. See, for example, Debates, March 3, 2000, pp. 4349-50; June
3, 2003, pp. 6812‑6.
[738]
See, for example, the press releases of the Standing Committee on International
Trade, November 26, 2007, the Standing Committee on Health, December 12, 2007,
and the Standing Committee on Finance, June 19, 2008, available on the House of
Commons Committees Web site.
[739]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, Minutes of
Proceedings, April 24, 2007, Meeting No. 49.
[740]
Reports to the House can take a variety of formats depending on the subject
matter under consideration and the conclusions which the committee has reached.
Besides preparing printed versions of their reports, committees have presented
reports in Braille, on audiocassette and computer diskette, and in large‑print
formats. See, for example, Journals, June 16, 1993,
p. 3318. Committees have also translated reports into languages other than
English and French for distribution to particular audiences. See, for example,
Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes
of Proceedings, May 4, 1999, Meeting No. 62.
[741]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, Minutes of
Proceedings, April 24, 2007, Meeting No. 49.
[742]
In 2001, the House gave the electronic media access to public meetings of
committees held within the Parliamentary Precinct, subject to certain
guidelines. The guidelines proposed in 2001 were extended temporarily at each
session until 2007, when new guidelines set by the Standing Committee on
Procedure and House Affairs, based on the earlier ones, were adopted on a
permanent basis. See the Fortieth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure
and House Affairs, presented to the House and concurred in on March 30, 2007 (Journals,
pp. 1197-8); Standing Order 119.1. In the early 1990s, provisional
guidelines for the televising of committee proceedings were presented in the
Twenty-Third Report of the Standing Committee on House Management. The House
concurred in the report. See Standing Committee on House Management, Minutes
of Proceedings and Evidence, February 11, 1992, Issue No. 24, pp.
6-13; Journals, February 14, 1992, p. 1024; March 27, 1992, p.
1230. See also the Eighty-Third Report of the Committee, presented to the House
on April 2, 1993 (Journals, p. 2784) and concurred in on April 28,
1993 (Journals, p. 2873). In 1998, the Standing Committee on
Procedure and House Affairs also presented a report in which it recommended
that members of the Press Gallery, rather than House Broadcasting Services, be
allowed to film committee meetings. See Standing Committee on Procedure and
House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, December 3, 1998, Meeting No. 45;
Journals, December 8, 1998, p. 1424; April 26, 1999, pp.
1766-7.
[743]
For example, the Chair of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs asked
during a committee meeting that an unauthorized recording device be put away (Evidence,
February 15, 2007, Meeting No. 26, p. 3). For further information, see the
Twenty-Third Report of the Standing Committee on House Management, presented to
the House on February 14, 1992 (Journals, p. 1024) and concurred in on
March 27, 1992 (Journals, p. 1230). For further information on the
broadcasting of House and committee proceedings, see Chapter 24, “The
Parliamentary Record”.
[744]
See, for example, Journals, April 5, 2001, p. 298.
[745]
See, for example, Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and
Communities, Minutes of Proceedings, September 21, 2006, Meeting No. 12.
[746]
Fortieth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs,
presented to the House and concurred in on March 30, 2007 (Journals,
pp. 1197‑8).
