On motion of Bernard Généreux, it was agreed, — That Joël Lightbound be elected Chair of the committee.

At 3:38 p.m., Joël Lightbound took the Chair.

On motion of Ed Fast, it was agreed, — That Michael Kram be elected First Vice-Chair of the committee.

On motion of Brian Masse, it was agreed, — That Sébastien Lemire be elected Second Vice-Chair of the committee.

By unanimous consent, on motion of Andy Fillmore, 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.

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.

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.

That witnesses be given five 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;

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 advise the committee, at the start of each meeting, of any witness who did not perform the required technical tests.

That all documents submitted for committee business that do not come from a federal department, members’ 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.

Michael Kram gave oral notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of:

(1) how we can best protect Canada’s national security by preventing the sale of critical mineral assets to hostile foreign interests;

(2) how Canada can leverage the role that the critical minerals sector will play in driving our clean energy future by positioning Canada as a reliable and sustainable supplier of green technologies, including the development and manufacture of next-generation battery technology;

(3) how Canada can reduce its reliance on and vulnerability to foreign supply chains when it comes to the sourcing of critical minerals; and

(4) how to protect and improve the competitiveness of Canada’s critical minerals sector.

Sébastien Lemire gave oral notices of the following five motions:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of Competitiveness in Canada, and that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of the Proposed Acquisition of Shaw by Rogers, and that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of Domestic Manufacturing Capacity for a COVID-19 Vaccine, and that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of the Development and Support of the Aerospace Industry, and that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of the Economic Recovery from COVID-19, and that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session.

Brian Masse gave oral notice of the following motion:

That the committee hold immediate hearings on the state of the Canadian auto industry and to better understand plans by the government for investment in Canada’s domestic auto industry including greenfield and brownfield investments, and investments in electric vehicles and battery plants.

Tracy Gray gave oral notice of the following two motions:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee invite Daniel Therrien, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, to testify regarding the development and ongoing operation of the ArriveCAN application.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), that the committee invite the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development and the Minister of Rural Economic Development to appear before the Committee at their earliest convenience on or before February 11, 2022, to answer questions about the Prime Minister's mandate letters to them; that the ministers appear at the meeting exclusively for the purpose of the mandate letter and no other matters; and that this meeting be televised.

Andy Fillmore gave oral notice of the following motion:

That pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a comprehensive study on the potential for Canada to be a world leader in the production of critical minerals, particularly as it relates to the growing battery and EV ecosystem in Canada and across North America; that the committee examine how Indigenous communities can be active participants in this sector; that the committee devote a minimum of two meetings to this study and report its findings to the House.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith gave oral notice of the following two motions:

That the committee invite the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications (CRTC) Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Ian Scott for one meeting to discuss the CRTC's reversal on its decision with regard to wholesale rates and its impact on affordability as well as provide a briefing on the ongoing work of the CRTC, the status of that work and its impact on delivering affordable wireless internet for Canadians.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee examine the National Innovation Agenda, the Strategic Innovation Fund and specifically the Net Zero Accelerator (NZA) initiative.

Ed Fast gave oral notice of the following six motions:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on the national security risks posed by certain foreign telecommunications equipment providers; that, the committee call as witnesses the Ministers of Public Safety and Innovation, Science and Industry and their officials, industry stakeholders, and telecommunications experts; and that not less than three meetings be dedicated to this study.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on the most important issues impacting the competitiveness of the Canadian economy, with a special focus on 1) labour shortages across the country; 2) barriers to interprovincial trade; 3) supply chain constraints; and 4) red tape and burdensome regulation.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of how to streamline and eliminate red tape around federal science, research and economic development programs; that the study review Canada's historical business expenditures on research and development as a share of GDP which have been well below the OECD average and have continued to fall since their peak in 2001; that the study include a review of the extensive costs that our innovators incur in hiring consultants and advisory firms to fill out and complete the copious paperwork for funding applications; and, that the study focus on how science, research and economic development funding can be invested directly into research without being diverted into a complex administrative system.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a further study of Accessibility and Affordability of Telecommunications Services; that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament as part of its study on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session; that the committee adopt the report entitled Affordability and Accessibility of Telecommunications Services in Canada: Encouraging Competition to (Finally) Bridge the Digital Divide adopted during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament; that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request the government table a comprehensive response to the report; and, that the Chair present the report to the House.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on the benefits of implementing a patent box regime in Canada, similar to the patent box approach adopted by the Province of Quebec, with the goal of supporting our innovators, attracting investment to Canada, and developing, commercializing and keeping innovation and related intellectual property in Canada; and that the study review Canada’s historical business expenditures on research and development as a share of GDP.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee invite relevant officials from Statistics Canada to study the latest inflation numbers, that this study consist of at least two meetings, and that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.