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 Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of the Chair, the Parliamentary Secretary and a Member from each of the opposition parties; that the quorum of the Subcommittee consist of at least three (3) Members, one of whom must be from the Government and one member from the opposition; and that each member of the Subcommittee be permitted to have one assistant attend any of the Subcommittee meetings.
That Cabinet Ministers be allowed a maximum of fifteen (15) minutes for their presentations; that all other witnesses be allowed ten (10) minutes; that, at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated seven (7) minutes for the first questioner of each party; that, thereafter, five (5) minutes be allocated to each subsequent questioner alternating between government and opposition parties; that no Member be given a second opportunity to ask a question until all Members have had an opportunity to ask a question; and, that Members may share their time.
That the order of speaking for the first round of questioning should be as follows: Liberal, Bloc, NDP, Conservative; that the questioning during the second round shall alternate between opposition members and the Government members in the following fashion: Liberal, Conservative; Bloc, Conservative; Liberal, Conservative; Conservative, based on the principle that each Committee member shall have a full opportunity to question the witnesses; and that, if time permits, further rounds shall repeat the pattern of the first two, at the discretion of the Chair.
That a full 36 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 and that the notice of motion be electronically received by the Clerk of the Committee and distributed to Members in both official languages.
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 three (3) members are present, including one member of the opposition.
That any member of the Committee be entitled to submit a dissenting or supplementary opinion to any Committee Report in accordance with the Standing Orders of the House and the conditions imposed by the Committee.
That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses, not exceeding two (2) representatives per organization; that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair; and that, whenever possible, teleconferencing be used.
That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute to the members of the Committee only documents that are available in both official languages.
That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff person and, in addition, each party be permitted to have one staff member from either the Office of their House Leader, their Whip or their Research Bureau attend in camera meetings.
That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the Committee and its subcommittees.
That the Chair be authorized to purchase gifts on behalf of the Committee for visiting delegations to Canada meeting with the Committee or for foreign hosts when the Committee is travelling abroad.
That the Committee be authorized to purchase documents for the use of the Committee.