On motion of Randeep Sarai, it was agreed, — That Sven Spengemann be elected Chair of the committee.

At 11:10 a.m., Sven Spengemann took the Chair.

On motion of Michael D. Chong, it was agreed, — That Marty Morantz be elected First Vice-Chair of the committee.

On motion of Rachel Bendayan, it was agreed, — That Stéphane Bergeron be elected Second Vice-Chair of the committee.

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

Hedy Fry moved, — That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence published when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four members are present, including two members of the opposition parties and two members of the government party, but when travelling outside the Parliamentary Precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.

Debate arose thereon.

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

On motion of Hedy Fry, it was agreed, — That, witnesses be given 5 minutes for their opening statement that whenever possible, witnesses provide the committee with their opening statement 72 hours in advance; 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 for the first round: 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 Bloc Québécois, two and a half minutes New Democratic Party, two and a half minutes Conservative Party, five minutes Liberal Party, five minutes.

On motion of Hedy Fry, it was agreed, — That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the Committee provided the documents are in both official languages, and that the witnesses be advised accordingly.

On motion of Hedy Fry, it was agreed, — That the clerk of the committee, at the discretion of the Chair, be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and its subcommittees.

On motion of Hedy Fry, it was agreed, — That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses not exceeding two representatives per organization; and that in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.

On motion of Hedy Fry, it was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff member at in camera meetings and that one additional person from each House officer’s office be allowed to be present.

On motion of Hedy Fry, 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; and that the analysts assigned to the committee also have access to the in camera transcripts.

On motion of Hedy Fry, it was agreed, — That a 48-hour notice, interpreted as two nights, be required for any substantive motion to be moved in committee , unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration, provided that: (a) the notice be filed with the clerk of the committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; (b) the motion be distributed to Members and the offices of the whips of each recognized party 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; (c) 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 holding meetings outside the Parliamentary Precinct, no substantive motion may be moved.

Hedy Fry moved, — 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.

Debate arose thereon.

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

On motion of Marty Morantz, it was agreed, — That the committee be authorized to purchase gifts to be presented to foreign hosts and visiting delegations.

On motion of Marty Morantz, it was agreed, — That all meetings other than those deemed in camera be televised or webcast where possible.

On motion of Marty Morantz, it was agreed, — That, pursuant to Standing Orders 108(1) and 108(2), a Subcommittee on International Human Rights to be chaired by a member elected by the subcommittee, be established to inquire into matters relating to the promotion of respect for international human rights, as may be referred to it by the Committee;

That, the subcommittee be chaired by a member of the government and be composed of eight members or associate members of which four shall be government members, two shall be from the Conservative Party, one from the Bloc Québécois and one from the New Democratic Party, to be named following the usual consultations with the Whips;

That, the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development be granted the authority to print from day to day such papers and evidence as may be ordered by them, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1)(a).

That, the subcommittee be empowered to send for persons, papers and records, to receive evidence, to sit during a time when the committee is not sitting in Ottawa, to sit when the committee is sitting outside the Parliamentary Precinct and to sit during periods when the House stands adjourned; and

That, the Chair of the subcommittee meet with the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the committee at their mutual discretion .

Hedy Fry moved, — That the clerk inform each witness who is to appear before the committee that the House Administration support team must conduct technical tests to check the connectivity and the equipment used to ensure the best possible sound quality; and that the Chair advises the committee, at the start of each meeting, of any witness who did not perform the required technical tests.

Debate arose thereon.

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

On motion of Hedy Fry, it was agreed, — That all documents submitted for committee business that do not come from a federal department, Member's offices, or that have not been translated by the Translation Bureau be sent for prior linguistic review by the Translation Bureau before being distributed to members.

Heather McPherson moved, — That each party represented on the committee be entitled to select one witness per two-hour witness panel.

Debate arose thereon.

After debate, by unanimous consent, the motion was withdrawn.

Heather McPherson moved, — That the committee may meet in camera only for the following purposes:

(a) to consider a draft report;

(b) to attend briefings concerning national security;

(c) to consider lists of witnesses;

(d) for any other reason, with the unanimous consent of the committee;

That all votes taken in camera, with the exception of votes regarding the consideration of draft reports, be recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings, including how each member voted when recorded votes are requested;

That any motion to sit in camera is debatable and amendable.

Debate arose thereon.

After debate, by unanimous consent, the motion was withdrawn.

Michael D. Chong moved, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee undertake a study of Canada-China relations, including potential influence upon, and relationships with, institutions of the Government of Canada and its employees, and, accordingly, orders the production of the unredacted version of all documents produced by the Public Health Agency of Canada in response to the March 31, 2021, and May 10, 2021, orders of the former Special Committee on Canada-China Relations, respecting the transfer of Ebola and Henipah viruses to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in March 2019, and the subsequent revocation of security clearances for, and termination of the employment of, Dr. Xiangguo Qiu and Dr. Keding Cheng, provided that

(a) these documents shall be deposited with the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, in both official languages, within one week of the adoption of this order;

(b) a copy of the documents shall also be deposited with the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel in both official languages, with any proposed redaction which, in the government’s opinion, could reasonably be expected to compromise national security or reveal details of an ongoing criminal investigation, other than the existence of an investigation;

(c) the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel shall (i) transmit to the Clerk of the Committee the documents, redacted according to the proposals referred to in paragraph (b), who, in turn, shall distribute them to the members of the Committee, and (ii) notify the Chair, who shall forthwith inform the Committee, whether he is satisfied the requested documents were produced as the Committee ordered;

(d) if the report referred to in subparagraph (c)(ii) indicates that the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel is not satisfied, the Chair shall be instructed to present a report to the House, forthwith, which sets out the terms of this motion and the report of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel;

(e) the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel shall discuss with the Committee, at an in camera meeting, to be held within two weeks of the documents being distributed, whether he agrees with the redactions proposed by the government pursuant to paragraph (b); and

(f) the Committee may, after hearing from the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, pursuant to paragraph (e), accept the proposed redactions, or reject some or all the proposed redactions and request the production of the unredacted documents in the manner to be determined by the committee.

Debate arose thereon.

Randeep Sarai moved, — That the debate be now adjourned.

The question was put on the motion and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Rachel Bendayan, Ali Ehsassi, Hedy Fry, Robert Oliphant, Randeep Sarai — 5;

NAYS: Stéphane Bergeron, Michael D. Chong, Marc Dalton, Garnett Genuis, Heather McPherson, Marty Morantz — 6.

On motion of Michael D. Chong, it was agreed, — That the motion be referred to the subcommittee on agenda and procedure.

On motion of Michael D. Chong, it was agreed, — That the subcommittee on agenda and procedure meet the week of December 20th, 2021.