PROC Committee Report

House of Commons
Ottawa, Canada
K1A 0A6

39th Parliament, 1st Session

The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs has the honour to present its

FORTIETH REPORT

Pursuant to Standing Orders 108(3)(a)(v) and 119.1(2), the Committee is recommending that the guidelines for broadcasting committee meetings by the electronic media be made permanent.

In the Committee’s Nineteenth Report of the 1st Session of the 37th Parliament, presented on May 16, 2001, and adopted the same day, it was recommended that the electronic media be allowed, on a trial basis, to videotape any public committee meetings held within the Parliamentary Precincts in Ottawa, subject to certain guidelines. This trial period has been successively renewed since 2001: first, to June 30, 2002 (by the Committee’s Forty-first Report on December 3, 2001, adopted by the House on December 5, 2001); second, to December 31, 2002 (by the Committee’s Fifty-eighth Report, tabled and adopted on May 24, 2002); third, to June 30, 2003 (by the Committee’s Third Report, tabled and adopted on October 30, 2002); fourth, to the end of the Second Session of the 37th Parliament (November 12, 2003) (by the Committee’s Forty-fourth Report, tabled and adopted on September 19, 2003); fifth, to the end of the Third Session of the 37th Parliament (by the Committee’s Second Report, tabled in the House on February 13, 2004, and adopted on February 16, 2004; sixth, to the end of the First Session of the 38th Parliament (by the Committee’s Fifth Report, tabled and adopted on October 20, 2004); and, most recently, to the end of the First Session of the current Parliament (by the Committee’s Second Report, tabled in the House on April 27, 2006, and concurred in on the same date).

The Committee has been monitoring the experience of the House and its committees with respect to having proceedings televised by the electronic media. In our last Report on this subject, we indicated that it might now be appropriate to make these guidelines permanent. Before doing so, however, we wanted to review the guidelines, and consult with representatives of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, the Clerk of the House, and Members of all parties.

These consultations have now been completed. The Clerk of the House, Audrey O’Brien, wrote to the Committee that, following consultations with management and staff of the Committees Directorate and Information Services, it would appear that the guidelines could be made permanent. Other than the occasional short-notice requests from the media, no significant problems or complaints have been reported. The Committee received a letter from CPAC, with respect to the textual information included at the bottom of the screen during committee proceedings and a specific provision included in the Committee’s original report. Ten Members of the House wrote to the Committee on this issue, nine of whom supported making the guidelines permanent, while one did not offer an opinion. In addition, a member of the public contacted the Clerk of the Committee by telephone and indicated his support for making the guidelines permanent.

As has been stated in previous reports, it is important that Canadians be able to see more of the work on committees and of Members, and that the televising of committees is an integral part of making Parliament more accessible and transparent to the public. The original objectives were to provide Canadians with a fuller picture of Parliament, to give them an opportunity to see MPs at work and to see what committees are doing, and to promote coverage of less high-profile hearings and committees, including those of particular interest to certain regions or interest groups. It remains our hope that the electronic media will take advantage of this opportunity to enhance coverage of the work of parliamentary committees.

It would seem that the existing guidelines are appropriate and that they have proved successful in providing the necessary framework for transparent access to, as well as a better understanding of, the work of the House of Commons and its committees.

The Committee recommends that, pursuant to Standing Order 119.1(2), the following guidelines governing the broadcasting of committee meetings be adopted by the House of Commons:

The electronic media will be allowed to videotape any public committee meetings held within the Parliamentary Precincts in Ottawa, subject to the following guidelines:

• Video recording/broadcasting will be done from the commencement of the meeting and will end only at a “natural break” in or at the end of the proceedings. Recording shall be suspended during suspensions in the committee proceedings. (The media will be free to use the videotape in whole or in part.)
• Video recording must respect the spirit of an “electronic Hansard,” and will be subject to the same general guidelines, rules and policies as applied to the broadcasting of the proceedings of the House itself. Generally, this means that only the individual recognized by the chair is to be filmed. Close-up shots (of people or documents), and reaction shots, among others, are not permitted.
• Video recording of committee meetings is subject to the express condition that the party so recording retain the original tape(s) for a period of 35 days, and upon receipt of a request in writing from the Speaker of the House of Commons, deliver forthwith the original tape(s) of any committee meeting video-taped pursuant to these rules.
• The cameras must be in fixed positions while the committee is in session. Cameras will not be allowed to move around the room while the committee is in session. (Free roving cameras would continue for photo opportunities prior to the meeting starting, or after the meeting has been adjourned.)
• No more than three cameras will be permitted in a committee room at one time. Because of space limitations, some rooms will be designated for a maximum of two cameras. The electronic media will have to enter into reciprocal or pooling arrangements among themselves.
• Cameras and other equipment must be set up and dismantled as quickly as possible to minimize the disruption to previous or subsequent meetings in the same room.
• The existing room light and committee sound system are to be used.
• Camera operators will be required to be members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
• A member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery wishing to video record a committee meeting must provide the clerk of the committee with reasonable notice in all of the circumstances prior to the meeting (such reasonableness to be determined by the committee itself). Where the notice for the meeting is either issued or amended during the 24 hour period prior to the meeting, the clerk must be notified at least two hours in advance of the meeting.
• The electronic media will not be permitted to film those committee meetings that are being filmed by the House of Commons Broadcasting Service, as they will continue to have access to the feed from the House.
• The objective of equitable coverage of all committees will be considered by the Committee when evaluating the success of these procedures.
• The House of Commons will have to negotiate an agreement with the Parliamentary Press Gallery on behalf of the electronic media. Those members of the Press Gallery who wish to take advantage of these arrangements will be required first to sign an agreement with the House, agreeing to be bound by the guidelines.

The Committee will continue to monitor the broadcasting of committees by the electronic media, and retains the authority pursuant to Standing Orders 108(3)(a)(v) and 119.1(2) to recommend changes to these guidelines.

A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (Meetings Nos. 2 and 44) is tabled.

Respectfully submitted,

GARY GOODYEAR, M.P.
Chair