HAFF Committee Meeting
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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
Meeting No. 3
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs met at 11:05 a.m. this day, in Room 112-N, Centre Block, the Chair, Peter Adams, presiding.
Members of the Committee present: Peter Adams, Rick Borotsik, Pierre Brien, Marlene Catterall, Yvon Godin, Michel Guimond, Dale Johnston, Joe Jordan, Carolyn Parrish, Geoff Regan, John Reynolds, Jacques Saada, Werner Schmidt, Guy St-Julien, Tony Tirabassi.
The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs met at 11:05 a.m. this day, in Room 112-N, Centre Block, the Chair, Peter Adams, presiding.
In attendance: From the Library of Parliament: James Robertson, Principal.
On motion of Yvon Godin, it was agreed, - That the Subcommittee on Private Members’ Business be authorized to hold a working dinner on Wednesday, October 30, 2002, for the purpose of selecting votable items, and that reasonable costs of that dinner be borne by the Committee’s budget.
Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(3)(a)(v), the Committee commenced consideration of matters related to the broadcasting of committee proceedings.
On motion of Dale Johnston, it was agreed, - That the Chair present a report to the House recommending that the trial period for the guidelines on the broadcasting of committee proceedings be extended until June 20, 2003.
Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(3)(a)(iii), the Committee resumed consideration of the Standing Orders, procedure and practice related to the election of Chairs and Vice-Chairs of committees.
By unanimous consent, the Committee resumed consideration of the motion of John Reynolds, as amended, - - That the Committee report to the House the following recommendation:
“That Standing Order 106 be amended
(a) by replacing section (2) with the following:
“(2) At the commencement of every session and, if necessary, during the course of a session, each standing or special committee shall elect a Chair and two Vice-Chairs, of whom the Chair and one Vice-Chair shall be Members of the government party and one Vice-Chair shall be a Member of the opposition. In the case of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the Chair shall continue to be a Member of the Official Opposition and the Vice-Chairs shall be Members of the government party. In the case of the Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations, the Co-Chair acting on behalf of the House shall be a Member of the Official Opposition and the Vice-Chairs shall be Members of the government party.”;
(b) by inserting the following new section (3):
“(3) When more than one candidate is nominated for the office of Chair or Vice-Chair of a committee, the election shall be conducted by secret ballot as follows:
(a) the clerk of the committee, who shall preside over the election, shall announce the candidates to the committee members present and provide them with ballot papers;
(b) committee members wishing to indicate their choice for Chair or Vice-Chair of the committee shall print the first and last name of a candidate on the ballot paper;
(c) committee members shall deposit their completed ballot papers in a box provided for that purpose;
(d) the clerk of the committee shall count the ballots and announce the name of the candidate who has received the majority of votes;
(e) if no candidate has received a majority of votes, a second ballot shall be taken, provided that the candidate with the least number of votes shall be dropped from the second ballot; balloting shall continue in this manner until a candidate receives a majority of votes, at which time the clerk shall destroy the ballots and in no way divulge the number of ballots cast for any candidate.”;
and that the Clerk be authorized to make any required editorial and consequential amendments and that the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs conduct a review of this new procedure before a second application takes place.”
The question was put on the motion as amended and it was by a show of hands agreed to: YEAS 9, NAYS 6.
Pursuant to its mandate under Standing 108(3)(a)(iii) and to Order made Thursday, October 24, 2002 (Meeting No. 2), the Committee commenced consideration of changes to the rules governing Private Members’ Business.
The Chair presented a draft report containing the recommendations from the 66th Report of the Committee presented in the First Session of the 37th Parliament.
John Reynolds moved, - That the draft report be adopted and that the Chair present the Report to the House.
Debate arose.
By unanimous consent, it was agreed, - That the draft report be amended in the first paragraph to recognize the concerns expressed by some Members of the House, and some Senators, with respect to a few of the recommendations contained in the report, and to acknowledge that their concerns should be addressed prior to the changes being adopted and implemented.
It was agreed, - That the draft report, as amended, be adopted.
At 11:30 a.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.
Thomas Hall
Clerk of the Committee