HUMA Committee Meeting
Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.
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Minutes of Proceedings
On motion of Dan Ruimy, it was agreed, — That Bryan May be elected Chair of the Committee.
At 3:41 p.m., Bryan May took the Chair.
On motion of Mark Warawa, it was agreed, — That Bob Zimmer be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.
On motion of Dan Ruimy, it was agreed, — That Niki Ashton be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.
On motion of Dan Ruimy, it was agreed, — That the Committee retain, as needed and at the discretion of the Chair, the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work.
On motion of Ramesh Sangha, it was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of five (5) members, including the Chair, the two (2) Vice-Chairs and two (2) members of the Governement; that the quorum of the Subcommittee shall consist of at least three (3) members, including one (1) member of the Official Opposition; that each member of the Subcommittee shall be permitted to have one (1) assistant attend any meetings of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure; and that, each party shall be permitted to have one (1) staff member from a House Officer attend any meetings.
On motion of Filomena Tassi, it was agreed, — That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence printed when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four (4) members are present, including one (1) member from each recognized party; and that, in the case of previously scheduled meetings taking place outside the Parliamentary Precinct, the Committee members in attendance shall only be required to wait for fifteen (15) minutes following the designated start of the meeting before they may proceed to hear witnesses and receive evidence, regardless of whether opposition or government members are present.
Wayne Long moved, — That the witnesses from any one organization shall be allowed five (5) to ten (10) minutes, at the discretion of the Chair, to make their opening statements; that during the questioning of witnesses there shall be allocated time in the following order and amount for the first round of questioning: six (6) minutes for the Conservative Party, six (6) minutes for the Liberal Party, six (6) minutes for the New Democratic Party, and six (6) minutes for the Liberal party; and that during the questioning of witnesses there shall be allocated time in the following order and amount for the second round of questioning: six (6) minutes for the Liberal Party, six (6) minutes for the Conservative Party, six (6) minutes for the Liberal Party, five (5) minutes for the Conservative Party, and three (3) minutes for the New Democratic Party.
Debate arose thereon.
Mark Warawa moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing all the words after "questioning of witnesses" with the following: "the time allocated to each questioner be as follows: for the first round of questioning, seven (7) minutes to a representative of each party in the following order: Liberal, Conservative, NDP and Liberal; for the second round, five (5) minutes be allocated in the following order: Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Liberal; followed by NDP, three (3) minutes".
Debate arose thereon.
After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Mark Warawa and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 4; NAYS: 5.
The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 8; NAYS: 1.
On motion of Yves Robillard, it was agreed, — That only the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute to the members of the Committee any documents, including motions, and that all documents which are to be distributed amongst the members of the Committee must be in both official languages; and that the Clerk of the Committee shall advise all witnesses appearing before the Committee of this requirement.
On motion of Dan Ruimy, it was agreed, — That the Committee authorize the Clerk of the Committee, in consultation with the Chair, to make the necessary arrangements to provide for working meals, as may be required, and that the cost of these meals be charged to the Committee budget.
On motion of Ramesh Sangha, it was agreed, — That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation, child care, attendant care and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses, not exceeding two (2) representatives per organization; and that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.
On motion of Filomena Tassi, it was agreed, — That each Committee member in attendance shall be permitted to have one (1) staff member attend any in camera meetings. In addition, each party shall be permitted to have one (1) staff member from a House Officer attend in camera meetings.
On motion of Wayne Long, it was agreed, — That in camera meetings be transcribed and that the transcription be kept with the Clerk of the Committee for later consultation by members of the Committee or by their staff.
On motion of Yves Robillard, it was agreed, — That a notice of 48 hours, interpreted as two nights, be required before a member may move a substantive motion, unless it deals directly with the matter before the Committee at that time, provided that:
(a) this notice be emailed to the Clerk of the Committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday;
(b) this notice be distributed by e-mail to members in both official languages by the Clerk of the Committee on the same day the said notice was transmitted if it was received no later than the deadline hour;
(c) notices received after the deadline hour be deemed to have been received during the next business day; and,
(d) this rule does not prevent a member to give notice of a motion orally during a meeting of the Committee, in which case notice shall be deemed to have been given before the deadline that day.
On motion of Dan Ruimy, it was agreed, — That the Committee not undertake consideration of any substantive motion during any Committee travel.
Niki Ashton gave notice of the following motion:
That the Committee conduct a study of the impact of recent reforms to the Employment Insurance Program and to Employment Insurance appeals; that the study include an examination of the current low rates of access to Employment Insurance and their causes; that the Committee receives witnesses for five (5) sessions; and that the Government provides an answer to these recommendations.
On motion of Gérard Deltell, it was agreed, — That the Committee invite the Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, to present their mandate letters and the objectives they intend to pursue as they carry out their mandates.
At 4:21 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.