Mark Gerretsen moved, — That Deborah Schulte be elected Chair of the Committee.

Nathan Cullen moved, — That William Amos be elected Chair of the Committee.

By unanimous consent, the motion was withdrawn.

It was agreed, — That Deborah Schulte be elected Chair of the Committee.

Deborah Schulte took the Chair.

On motion of Martin Shields, it was agreed, — That Jim Eglinski be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of William Amos, it was agreed, — That Nathan Cullen be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Mark Gerretsen, 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 and that these services may be requested at the discretion of the Chair.

On motion of John Aldag, it was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of five (5) members, including the Chair, the two (2) Vice-Chairs, and two (2) members of the Government Party;

That quorum of the Subcommittee shall consist of at least three (3) members, including one (1) member of the opposition;

That each member of the Subcommittee shall be permitted to have one (1) assistant attend any meetings of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure; and

That, in addition, each party shall be permitted to have one (1) staff member from a House Officer attend any meetings .

On motion of William Amos, 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 (4) members are present, including one member from the opposition and one member from the governing party.

That in the case of previously scheduled meetings taking place outside the Parliamentary precinct, the Committee members in attendance shall only be required to wait for 15 minutes following the designated start of the meeting before they may proceed to hear witnesses and receive evidence, regardless of whether opposition or government members are present .

On motion of Mike Bossio, it was agreed, — That only the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute to the members of the Committee any documents, including motions, and that all documents which are to be distributed amongst the Committee members must be in both official languages; and

That the Clerk shall advise all witnesses appearing before the Committee of this requirement .

On motion of Darren P. Fisher, it was agreed, — That each Committee member in attendance shall be permitted to have one (1) staff member attend any in camera meetings; and

That, in addition, each party shall be permitted to have one (1) staff member from a House Officer attend in camera meetings .

On motion of William Amos, it was agreed, — That in camera meetings be transcribed and that the transcription be kept with the Clerk of the Committee for later consultation by members of the Committee.

On motion of Mark Gerretsen, it was agreed, — That the Committee authorize the Clerk of the Committee, in consultation with the Chair, to make the necessary arrangements to provide for working meals, as may be required, and that the cost of these meals be charged to the Committee budget.

On motion of Darren P. Fisher, 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 made at the discretion of the Chair.

On motion of John Aldag, it was agreed, — That a forty-eight (48) hours notice, interpreted as two (2) 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 be deemed to have been received during the next business day.

Mike Bossio moved, — That witnesses from any one organization shall be allowed ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement; and

That during the questioning of witnesses, there shall be allocated six (6) minutes for the first round of questioning;

That the order of questions for the first round of questioning shall be as follows: Conservative Party, Liberal Party, New Democratic Party, Liberal Party.

That the order of questions for the second round of questioning shall be as follows: Liberal Party: six (6) minutes, Conservative Party: six (6) minutes, Liberal Party: six (6) minutes, Conservative Party: five (5) minutes , New Democratic Party: three (3) minutes .

After debate, the question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.