FINA Committee Meeting
Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.
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Minutes of Proceedings
On motion of Steven MacKinnon, it was agreed, — That the Hon. Wayne Easter be elected Chair of the Committee.
At 11:07 a.m., the Hon. Wayne Easter took the Chair.
On motion of Lisa Raitt, it was agreed, — That Ron Liepert be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.
On motion of Robert-Falcon Ouellette, it was agreed, — That Guy Caron be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.
On motion of Steven MacKinnon, it was agreed, — That the Committee retain the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament, as needed, to assist the Committee in its work, at the discretion of the Chair.
On motion of Phil McColeman, it was agreed, — That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive and publish evidence when a quorum is not present, provided that at least three (3) members are present, and provided that one (1) is from government and one (1) is from opposition.
On motion of Steven MacKinnon, it was agreed, — That only the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute documents to the members of the Committee and only when the documents exist in both official languages, and that the Clerk notify all witnesses of this requirement in advance.
On motion of Francesco Sorbara, it was agreed, — That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide for working meals for the Committee and its subcommittees.
On motion of Raj Grewal, 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 at the discretion of the Chair.
On motion of Steven MacKinnon, it was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member in attendance be allowed to have one (1) staff member attend in camera meetings and that each party be allowed to have one (1) staff member from its Whip or House Leader’s Office attend in camera meetings.
On motion of Jennifer O'Connell, 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.
On motion of Francesco Sorbara, it was agreed, — 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 and distributed to members in both official languages, and that motions received by the Clerk of the Committee by 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and by 2:00 p.m. on Friday be distributed to the members the same day.
On motion of Raj Grewal, it was agreed, — That the Sub-committee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of the Chair, the two Vice-Chairs and two members of the government: Francesco Sorbara and Steven MacKinnon.
Steven MacKinnon moved, — That witnesses be given five (5) to ten (10) minutes at the discretion of the Chair to make their opening statement; that a Minister be given fifteen (15) minutes for opening remarks; and that the order of questioners be as follows:
1st round (7 Minutes): Liberal, Conservative, Liberal, New Democratic Party;
2nd round (5 Minutes): Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Liberal and 3 minutes for the New Democratic Party.
On motion of Guy Caron, it was agreed, — That the motion be amended by replacing, in the 1st round, the words “Liberal, New Democratic Party” with the words “New Democratic Party, Liberal”.
The motion, as amended, read as follows:
That witnesses be given five (5) to ten (10) minutes at the discretion of the Chair to make their opening statement; that a Minister be given fifteen (15) minutes for opening remarks; and that the order of questioners be as follows:
1st round (7 Minutes): Liberal, Conservative, New Democratic Party, Liberal;
2nd round (5 Minutes): Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Liberal and 3 minutes for the New Democratic Party.
On motion of Steven MacKinnon, it was agreed, — That, consistent with the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) mandate to provide estimates of the financial cost of proposals before Parliament (as outlined in section 79.2 of the Parliament of Canada Act), the PBO automatically always provide the Committee, within 45 calendar days of a Private Members' Business item's appearance on the Private Members' Business Order of Precedence, a detailed and comprehensive costing analysis of all such items and that the costing analysis shall a) be restricted to the motion or legislation as written and b) include a detailed description of the methodology used.
On motion of Jennifer O'Connell, it was agreed, — That, consistent with the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) mandate to provide independent analysis about the state of Canada’s finances and trends in the national economy (as outlined in section 79.2 of the Parliament of Canada Act), the PBO provide an economic and fiscal outlook to the Committee the fourth week of October and April of every calendar year, and be available to appear before the Committee to discuss its findings shortly thereafter.
Guy Caron moved, — That the Finance Department provide an annual update to the Committee on the status of all outstanding technical tax changes in an effort to ensure regular and timely legislation as already committed by the Conservative government.
Phil McColeman moved, — That the motion be amended by deleting the words “as already committed by the Conservative government”.
On motion of Phil McColeman, it was agreed, — That the motion be amended by deleting the words “as already committed by the Conservative government”.
The question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 8; NAYS: 1 and now reads as follows — That the Finance Department provide an annual update to the Committee on the status of all outstanding technical tax changes in an effort to ensure regular and timely legislation.
On motion of Steven MacKinnon, it was agreed, — That during meetings held outside its regular schedule, the Committee do not consider substantive motions.
On motion of Francesco Sorbara, it was agreed, — That briefs received by the Committee and related to its studies be published on the Committee’s Website.
At 11:50 a.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 11:59 a.m., the sitting resumed.
It was agreed, — That the Committee hold pre-budget consultations, that it hear from witnesses on February 16, 17, 18 and 19, 2016; that Canadians be invited to submit briefs, that Canadians who submitted briefs during the summer of 2015 be invited to re-submit them; and that the Committee publish a news release to that effect.
At 12:39 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.