On motion of Sean Casey, it was agreed, — That Bryan May be elected Chair of the committee.

Bryan May took the Chair.

On motion of Jamie Schmale, it was agreed, — That Phil McColeman be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Darrell Samson, it was agreed, — That Luc Desilets be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee .

On motion of Sean Casey, 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 Sean Casey, it was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of five members; the Chair, one member from each recognized party; and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration.

Sean Casey moved, — 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 members are present, including one member of the opposition and one member of the governement, but when travelling outside the parliamentary precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.

Debate arose thereon.

After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

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 members are present, including two members of the opposition and two members of the government, but when travelling outside the Parliamentary Precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.

On motion of Sean Casey, it was agreed, — That witnesses be given 10 minutes for their opening statement; that, at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six minutes for the first questioner of each party as follows: Round 1: Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party. That for the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows: Conservative Party, five minutes; Liberal Party, five minutes; Conservative Party, five minutes; Liberal Party, five minutes; Bloc Québécois, two and a half minutes; New Democratic Party, two and a half minutes.

On motion of Sean Casey, it was agreed, — That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the committee only when the documents are available in both official languages, and that witnesses be advised accordingly.

On motion of Sean Casey, it was agreed, — That the clerk of the committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and its subcommittees.

On motion of Sean Casey, it was agreed, — That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses not exceeding two representatives per organization; and that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.

On motion of Sean Casey, it was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to have one staff member at an in camera meeting and that one additional person from each House officer’s office be allowed to be present.

On motion of Sean Casey, it was agreed, — That one copy of the transcript of each in camera meeting be kept in the committee clerk’s office for consultation by members of the committee or by their staff.

On motion of Sean Casey, it was agreed, — That a 48 hours notice, interpreted as two nights, shall be required for any substantive motion to be considered by the committee, unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration, provided that (1) the notice be filed with the clerk of the committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; that (2) the motion be distributed to Members in both official languages by the clerk on the same day the said notice was transmitted if it was received no later than the deadline hour; and that (3) notices received after the deadline hour or on non-business days be deemed to have been received during the next business day, and that when the committee is travelling outside the Parliamentary Precinct, no substantive motions may be moved.

On motion of Sean Casey, it was agreed, — That, in relation to orders of reference from the House respecting Bills: (a) the clerk of the committee shall, upon the committee receiving such an order of reference, write to each member who is not a member of a caucus represented on the committee to invite those members to file with the clerk of the committee, in both official languages, any amendments to the Bill, which is the subject of the said order, which they would suggest that the committee consider; (b) suggested amendments filed, pursuant to paragraph (a), at least 48 hours prior to the start of clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill to which the amendments relate shall be deemed to be proposed during the said consideration, provided that the committee may, by motion, vary this deadline in respect of a given Bill; and (c) during the clause-by-clause consideration of a Bill, the Chair shall allow a member who filed suggested amendments, pursuant to paragraph (a), an opportunity to make brief representations in support of them.

Darrell Samson gave notice of the following motion:

That the committee undertake a study of a long-term Canadian strategy for commemorations, which recognizes and honours the service, sacrifice, and achievements of all Canadian veterans; which takes into consideration future events, monuments, memorials, graves and cemeteries both at home and abroad; that the committee invite officials from Veterans Affairs Canada, interested stakeholders and Canadian veterans, educators, and other partners; that this study include visits to memorials and monuments both within Canada and abroad; and that the committee table a report with recommendations to the government on the best way forward in the 21st century to inspire and educate Canadians and citizens around the world to recognize the service and sacrifice of all who have served our country.

Darrell Samson gave notice of the following motion:

That the committee undertake a study consisting of at least six meetings on federal supports and services to Canadian veterans’ caregivers and families; and that the committee table a report with recommendations on how the government could improve those services and supports to better meet the unique needs of veterans’ caregivers and families.

Andy Fillmore gave notice of the following motion:

That the committee undertake a study of women, LGBTQ2+ and racialized veterans, including the challenges and barriers faced by minority Canadian veterans, specific supports and services offered to minority veterans, specific needs of minority veterans, and how Veterans Affairs Canada can improve and target services to minority veterans to better suit their needs.

Marie-France Lalonde gave notice of the following motion:

That the committee undertake a study of the Education Training Benefit and that the committee table a report to the House with findings and recommendations on how the government could continue to improve the life of veterans.

Alex Ruff gave notice of the following motion:

That the committee, as its priority, immediately undertake a study of the backlog of pending veteran disability benefit applications at Veterans Affairs Canada.

Dane Lloyd gave notice of the following motion:

It was agreed, — That members send the committee clerk the names of those members who will form the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure, and that the subcommittee meet on Thursday, February 20, 2020, to discuss future business.