Historical Perspective
British Precedents
Committees of the Assemblies of the Two Canadas and of the United Province of Canada
Development of the House of Commons Committee System
Types of Committees and Mandates
Figure 20.1 Committee System of the House of Commons
Standing Committees
Figure 20.2 List of Standing and Standing Joint Committees of the House of Commons
General Mandate
Specific Mandates
Standing Joint Committees
Legislative Committees
Special Committees
Special Joint Committees
Subcommittees
Committee Lifespans
Effect of Prorogation and Dissolution on Committees
Resuming Proceedings in a New Session
Committee Powers
Committee Powers by Committee Type
To Examine and Enquire into All Such Matters as the House May Refer to Them
To Send for Persons
To Send for Papers and Records
To Sit While the House Is Sitting and When It Stands Adjourned
To Sit Jointly with Other Standing Committees
To Print from Day to Day Papers and Evidence as May Be Ordered by Them
To Report to the House from Time to Time
To Print a Brief Appendix to Any Report Containing Opinions or Recommendations Dissenting or Supplementary to It
To Delegate to Subcommittees All or Any of Their Powers
Obtaining Additional Powers
Studies Conducted by Committees
Authority to Conduct Studies: Orders of Reference and Instructions
Types of Studies Conducted
Legislative Measures
Bills
Committee Prepares and Brings a Bill
Bills Referred to Committee Before or After Second Reading
Order of Consideration
Reports to the House and Deadlines for Reporting
Referral of the Subject Matter of a Bill to a Committee
Recommital of a Bill
Consideration and Review of Existing Laws
Review for the Purpose of Approving or Rejecting/Revoking Delegated Legislation Emanating from an Existing Act
Subject Matter Studies
Estimates
Reference to Committee and Timeline for Reporting
Consideration in Committee
Initiatives Since 2000
Appointments
Order-in-Council Appointments
Officers of Parliament
Failure of the Government to Respond to Petitions or Written Questions
Committee Membership, Leadership and Staff
Membership
Members and Associate Members
Status of Members, Associate Members and Non-members
Establishing Committee Membership
Standing and Standing Joint Committees
Special Committees and Special Joint Committees
Changes in Membership
Special and Special Joint Committees
Substitutions
Status of Substitutes
Methods of Designating Substitutes
Participation by Non-Parliamentarians
Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Acting Chairs
Roles of Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Acting Chairs
Role of Chairs
Procedural Responsibilities
Administrative Responsibilities
Representative Responsibilities
Role of Vice-Chairs
Role of Acting Chairs
Methods of Designation
Figure 20.3 Methods of Designating Chairs and Vice-Chairs by Type of Committee
Vacancies
Committee Staff
Committee Clerk
Analysts
Legislative Clerks
Other Staff
Committee Proceedings
Procedural Framework for Committee Activities
Committee Procedure and Its Sources
Constitution and Acts of Parliament
Orders of Reference, Instructions and the Standing Orders of the House of Commons
Rulings by the Speaker of the House and Committee Chairs
Practice
Masters of Their Procedures and Proceedings: a Freedom with Boundaries
Committees and Questions of Procedure and Privilege
Disorder and Misconduct
Decisions of the Chair and Appeals
Points of Order
Questions of Privilege in Committee
Rules of Debate and the Decision-making Process
Rules of Debate
Decision-making Process
Notice
Moving Motions
Votes
Use of Unanimous Consent
Motions in Committee
Format and Admissibility
Types of Motions
Figure 20.4 Types of Motions in Committee
Substantive Motions
Subsidiary Motions
Privileged Motions
Amendments
Superseding Motions
Dilatory Motions
Motion for the Previous Question
Organization and Conduct of Business
Organization Meeting
Routine Motions
Analyst Services
Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure
Meeting Without a Quorum
Time for Opening Remarks and Questioning of Witnesses
Document Distribution
Working Meals
Travel, Accommodation and Living Expenses of Witnesses
Access to In Camera Meetings
Transcripts of In Camera Meetings
Notice of Motion
Determination of Studies and Preparation of Work Schedules and Lists of Witnesses
Figure 20.5 Usual Order of Business for Committee Study Leading to a Substantive Report
Briefings
Gathering Evidence and Soliciting Opinions
Evidence
Swearing-in of Witnesses
Figure 20.6 Swearing-in of Witnesses
Testimony
Briefs and Other Papers
Deliberations for the Production of a Report
Adoption of a Report by a Committee
Presentation to the House
Government Response
Concurrence in a Report by the House
Types of Meetings and Activities
Public Meetings
In Camera Meetings
Informal Meetings
Meetings or Activities Outside the Parliamentary Precinct
Physical Setting
Figure 20.7 Committee Room Configuration
Figure 20.8 Committee Room
Scheduling, Convening and Conduct of Meetings
Times of Meetings and Room Allocation
Convening a Meeting
By the Chair
At the Request of Four Committee Members
Cancelling a Meeting
Conduct of Meetings
Quorum and Call to Order / “Reduced Quorum”
Suspension
Adjournment
Funding of Activities
Key Authorities in the Financial Management of Committees
Board of Internal Economy
Liaison Committee and Subcommittee on Committee Budgets
Obtaining Funding for Committees
Basic Operational Budget or Interim Funding
Supplementary Budget for Project-related Activities or Travel
Figure 20.9 Approval Process for Operational and Travel Budgets for Standing Committees
Legislative and Special Committee Budgets
Supplementary Funding and Unused Funds
Figure 20.10 Approval Process for Special and Legislative Committee Budgets, Presented in Addition to Interim Funding
Financial Accountability
Reporting of Activities and Deliberations
A Single Window for Information: the Committees Web Site
Written Information
Notice of Meeting
Minutes of Proceedings
Press Releases
Reports
Press Conferences
Electronic Information
Radio
Television
Webcasting
Experience has shown that smaller and more flexible committees, when entrusted with interesting matters, can have a very positive impact on the development of our parliamentary system, upgrade the role of Members of Parliament, sharpen their interest and ultimately enable this institution to produce much more enlightened measures that better meet the wishes of the Canadian people.
Yvon Pinard, President of the Privy Council
(Debates, November 29, 1982, p. 21071)
As with many other legislative bodies, the House of Commons has a committee system. A parliamentary committee is a small group of Members created and empowered by the House to perform one or more specific tasks.[1] There are a number of different types of committees and they are formed on a temporary or permanent basis. They usually consist of Members drawn from all recognized parties in the House. Committee work, in fact, represents a substantial portion of the parliamentary activity of a Member of Parliament in Ottawa.[2] To enable them to perform their work effectively, the House generally delegates to its committees its powers of inquiry and the authority to compel the appearance of witnesses and the production of documents.
A deliberative assembly derives a number of advantages from the use of parliamentary committees. It is more efficient to perform in small groups work that would otherwise be difficult to accomplish in an assembly of more than 300 members. In essence, the responsibilities of parliamentary committees are to review in detail and improve bills and existing legislation, and to monitor the activities of the machinery of government and its executive branch: conducting reviews of and inquiries into government programs and policies, reviews of past and planned expenditures, and reviews of non-judicial appointments.
Parliamentary committees also offer a more informal setting, in which Members have the opportunity to develop close working relations with their colleagues. Moreover, if they remain members of the same committees for a sufficient length of time, they are able to develop or strengthen their expertise in specific fields. Through the public consultations they conduct, parliamentary committees represent the main avenue for elected Members of Parliament to enter into a direct dialogue with those in civil society, such as: individual citizens, non‑governmental experts, and representatives from the private sector. Through their work, committees can draw attention and raise the awareness of the government and the general public to specific issues.[3]
The process followed in the work of a parliamentary committee is essentially the same for all of them. It begins with the task entrusted to it by the House. The committee draws up a work plan and begins its study or inquiry. It may then hear witnesses and seek opinions. It concludes its study by recording its observations and making recommendations in the form of a report it presents to the House. In some cases, the committee may request that the government respond to its recommendations.
This chapter describes the procedure and practice of committees of the House of Commons. After a brief historical survey of the development of the committee system, the types of committee, their mandates, lifespan, powers and the types of studies they conduct are examined. This is followed by a discussion of their membership, leadership and staff, and their deliberations: the procedure that regulates them, how they are organized, the physical framework in which they do their work, how they are funded, and how their work is reported.
[1] Committees of the Whole are the exception; they are made up of all Members of the House of Commons. For further information, see Chapter 19, “Committees of the Whole House”. Senators may also sit as members of a parliamentary committee, as in the case of the joint committees of both Houses of Parliament. For further information, see the section in this chapter entitled “Types of Committees and Mandates”.
[2] In fiscal year 2007-08, for example, parliamentary committees held nearly 1,200 meetings, which represented nearly 1,700 hours of work. By comparison, the House of Commons held 113 sittings during the same period.
[3] For a critical examination of the committee system of the House of Commons, see Jackson, R.J. and Jackson, D., Politics in Canada: Culture, Institutions, Behaviour and Public Policy, 6th ed., Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006, pp. 323-5. For further information on the various functions and advantages for deliberative assemblies of a committee system, see National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, “Committees in Legislatures: A Division of Labour”, Legislative Research Series, No. 2, Washington, 1996.