On motion of Larry Maguire, it was agreed, — That the Hon. Hedy Fry be elected Chair of the Committee.

At 8:57 a.m., the Hon. Hedy Fry took the Chair.

On motion of Julie Dabrusin, it was agreed, — That Larry Maguire be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Peter Van Loan, it was agreed, — That Pierre Nantel be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Julie Dabrusin, 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.

Dan Vandal moved, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of five (5) members, including the Chair, the two (2) Vice-Chairs, and two (2) government members; and that the quorum of the Subcommittee consist of at least three (3) members, including one (1) member of the government and one (1) member of the opposition; that each member of the Subcommittee be permitted to have one (1)assistant attend any meeting of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure; and that, in addition, each party be permitted to have one (1) staff member of a House Officer attend any meeting.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 5; NAYS: 1.

Julie Dabrusin 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 (4) members are present, including one (1) member of the opposition and one (1) member of the government; 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, as long as a member of the government and the opposition are present.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 8; NAYS: 1.

Dan Vandal moved, — That the witnesses from any one organization shall be allowed ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement. During the questioning of witnesses, there shall be six (6) minutes allocated for the first round. The order of questions for the first round of questioning shall be as follows: Conservative, Liberal, NDP, Liberal. For the questioning during the second round, six (6) minutes shall be allocated to each questioner and shall be as follows: Liberal, Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, to the exception of the NDP questioning after for three (3) minutes.

After debate, the question was put on the motion and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 8; NAYS: 1.

By unanimous consent, it was agreed, — That the motion adopted earlier this day concerning the rounds of questioning be rescinded and replaced with the following motion:

That witnesses be given ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement; and that during the questioning of witnesses 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, Liberal; for the second round, five (5) minutes be allocated in the following order: Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Liberal; followed by NDP, three (3) minutes.

On motion of Darrell Samson, it was agreed, — That only the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the Committee and only when the documents are available in both official languages and that witnesses be advised accordingly.

On motion of Julie Dabrusin, 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 Seamus O'Regan, it was agreed, — 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.

Julie Dabrusin moved, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to have one staff member present from their office and one from their party at in camera meetings.

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

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to have one staff member present from their office and one representative from the whip's office from their party at in camera meetings.

On motion of Jean R. Rioux, 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 Seamus O'Regan, it was agreed, — 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; that the notice of motion be filed and distributed to members by the Clerk in both official languages; and that completed motions that are received by 4:00 p.m. be distributed to members the same day.

On motion of Darrell Samson, it was agreed, — That Seamus O'Reagan be one of the members of the government party on the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure.

On motion of Seamus O'Regan, it was agreed, — That Darrell Samson be one of the members of the government party on the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure.

It was agreed, — That the Committee meet on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 for the consideration of Committee Business.