STATEMENT BY THE CHAIR
Pursuant to Order made by the House on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, the following routine motions in effect at the time of prorogation of the previous session are deemed to have been adopted by the Committee in the current session:
That the Committee retain, as needed and at the discretion of the Chair, the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work.
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of the Chair, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, the two Vice-Chairs and a member of the other opposition party.
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 three (3) members are present, including one member of the opposition.
That only the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute to members of the Committee documents and only when they exist in both official languages, and that witnesses be advised accordingly.
That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the Committee and its Subcommittees.
That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation 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.
That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff person at an in camera meeting and in addition to that, one person from either the whip's office, the House leader's office, or the research division of each party.
That one copy of the transcript of each in camera meeting be kept in the office of the Clerk of the Committee for consultation by members of the Committee.
That 42 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.
That, whenever the main estimates or the supplementary estimates are tabled in the House, the committee invite the minister and appropriate senior officials to appear at a televised meeting of the Committee, if possible.
That the order of questions for the first round of questioning be as follows: Liberal, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party, Conservative; that questioning during the second round shall alternate between the opposition members and government members in the following fashion: Liberal, Bloc Québécois, Conservative, Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Conservative; and that, if time permits, further rounds shall repeat the pattern of the first round, at the discretion of the Chair.
That the witnesses from any one organization shall be allowed ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement; that, during the questioning of witnesses, there shall be allocated seven (7) minutes for the first round of questioning and thereafter five (5) minutes shall be allocated to each questioner in the 2nd and subsequent rounds of questioning.
That whenever a minister or any officials appear before the Committee, if they are to speak from notes, that a copy of the statement or notes be distributed by the start of their statements.
That every party shall have the right to attach as an annex a dissenting opinion on any report to be presented to the House of Commons by the committee, and that this dissenting opinion shall be submitted to the clerk of the committee within 48 hours of passing of the report by the committee, in both official languages.
That the unedited transcripts of Committee meetings “blues” be distributed on request to interested members of the bureaucracy, media and public