On motion of Marilyn Gladu, it was agreed, — That Anita Vandenbeld be elected Chair of the Committee.

At 5:43 p.m., Anita Vandenbeld took the Chair.

On motion of Julie Dzerowicz, it was agreed, — That Shannon Stubbs be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Julie Dzerowicz, it was agreed, — That Sheri Benson be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

By unanimous consent, it was agreed, — That the following routine motions be adopted:

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 Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence in the absence of a quorum, provided that at least three members are present, including one member from the government party and one member from the opposition.

That only the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the Committee and only when such documents exist in both official languages and that witnesses be advised accordingly prior to appearing before the Committee.

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 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.

That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff person at an in camera meeting and that each party represented on the Committee also be permitted to have one staff person from its Whip’s or House Leader’s office present.

That the transcript of each in camera meeting be kept by the Clerk of the Committee for consultation by members of the Committee in the Clerk’s office.

That 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 with the Clerk of the Committee by 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and by 2:00 p.m. on Friday and distributed to members in both official languages.

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 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.

On motion of Terry Sheehan, it was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and composed of the Chair, the two Vice-Chairs and two members of the government party to be designated by the Whip; and that the Chair of the Committee be the Chair of the Subcommittee.

On motion of Julie Dzerowicz, it was agreed, — That at its next meeting, the Committee hear from the authors of the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force Report and/or any of the authors of subsequent reports on the subject.

On motion of Sheri Benson, it was agreed, — That the Committee invite the Minister of Status of Women at the earliest opportunity.

It was agreed, — That second part of the Committee next meeting be dedicated to the planning of future Committee business.