On motion of Gudie Hutchings, it was agreed, — That Karen Vecchio be elected Chair of the committee.

At 11:05 a.m., Karen Vecchio took the Chair.

On motion of Salma Zahid, it was agreed, — That Sonia Sidhu be elected First Vice-Chair of the committee.

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That Andréanne Larouche be elected Second Vice-Chair of the committee.

On motion of Lindsay Mathyssen, it was agreed, — That the committee reconsider the role of a third vice-chair following the production of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs report on the subject.

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

On motion of Sonia Sidhu, it was agreed, — 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 government; but that when travelling outside the Parliamentary precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.

On motion of Sonia Sidhu, 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. 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 Sonia Sidhu, it was agreed, — That 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 Sonia Sidhu, 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.

Sonia Sidhu moved, — That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses not exceeding two representatives per organization; provided that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.

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, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses not exceeding two representatives per organization; provided that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair, and that videoconference services be used whenever possible.

On motion of Sonia Sidhu, 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 Sonia Sidhu, 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 Sonia Sidhu, 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 on official business, no substantive motions may be moved.

On motion of Sonia Sidhu, 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.

Lindsay Mathyssen moved, — That any motion to go in camera should be debatable and amendable, and that the committee may only meet in camera for the following purposes:

(a) to discuss administrative matters of the committee;

(b) a draft report;

(c) briefings concerning national security;

And furthermore, minutes of in camera meetings should reflect on the results of all votes taken by the committee while in camera, including how each member voted when a recorded vote is requested.

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 any motion to go in camera should be debatable and amendable, and that the committee may only meet in camera for the following purposes:

(a) to discuss administrative matters of the committee, including the selection and consideration of witnesses;

(b) a draft report;

(c) briefings concerning national security;

(d) to ensure the protection of privacy of individuals;

And furthermore, minutes of in camera meetings should reflect on the results of all votes taken by the committee while in camera, including how each member voted when a recorded vote is requested.

On motion of Alice Wong, it was agreed, — That the committee study the Supplementary Estimates (B), 2019-20, and that in relation to this study, the committee invite the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and relevant departmental officials to appear at the earliest opportunity.

On motion of Gudie Hutchings, it was agreed, — That the committee invite departmental officials from the Department for Women and Gender Equality for the first hour on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 to provide a general briefing, and that the committee discuss committee business during the second hour.

It was agreed, — That members submit their motions for future studies as early as possible in preparation for a discussion on Tuesday, February 25, 2020.

On motion of Gudie Hutchings, it was agreed, — That witness lists be inclusive and prioritized.