AFGH Committee Meeting

The Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan met at 9:03 a.m. this day, in Room 269, West Block, for the purpose of electing a Chair, pursuant to Standing Order 106(1).

On motion of Laurie Hawn, it was agreed, — That Pierre Lemieux be elected Chair of the Committee.

The Clerk of the Committee presided over the election of the Vice-Chairs.

On motion of Bob Rae, it was agreed, — That Honourable Bryon Wilfert be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Claude Bachand, it was agreed, — That Vivian Barbot be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Claude Bachand, it was agreed, — That Dawn Black be elected Third Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Pierre Lemieux took the Chair.

It was agreed, — That the Committee will meet on Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and regardless of when the meeting starts, they will sit for two full hours.

On motion of Laurie Hawn, 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 Dave MacKenzie, it was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of the Chair and the three Vice-Chairs of the Committee.

Bernard Patry moved, — That the Clerks of the Committee be authorized to distribute to the members of the Committee only documents that are available in both official languages.

On motion of Dawn Black, it was agreed, — That the motion be amended by adding the words “and, that the practice of the Committee will be that, unless there are exceptional circumstances, all written material will be distributed to Committee members 24 hours in advance” after the word “languages”.

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

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That the Clerks of the Committee be authorized to distribute to the members of the Committee only documents that are available in both official languages and, that the practice of the Committee will be that unless there are exceptional circumstances, all written material will be distributed to Committee members 24 hours in advance.

On motion of Sylvie Boucher, it was agreed, — That the Clerks of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the Committee and its subcommittees.

On motion of Dave MacKenzie, it was agreed, — That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnessses 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 Claude Bachand, it was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff person at in camera meetings and, that a representative of the Whip’s office of each party be allowed to attend in camera meetings.

On motion of Laurie Hawn, 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.

On motion of Dawn Black, it was agreed, — That 48 hours’ notice be required for any substantive motion to be considered by the Committee, unless the susbstantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration; and that the notice of motion be filed with the Clerks of the Committee and distributed to members in both official languages.

Dawn Black moved, — That, at the discretion of the Chair, witnesses be given ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement;

And that, at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses the time allocated to each party be as follows:

1st round (7 minutes each)

— Liberal

— Bloc Québécois

— NDP

— Conservative

Conservative 2nd round (5 minutes each)

— Liberal

— Conservative

— Bloc Québécois

— Conservative

— Liberal

— Conservative

— Liberal

— Conservative

And that when a minister is in attendance the order and time allocation for questioning witnesses be the same as above, with the exception that in the first round of questioning ten (10) minutes be allocated to each party.

Bernard Patry moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the last three spots in the 2nd round of questioning with one spot for the NDP, followed by the paragraph “And that if there is a 3rd round of questioning the Committee will revert to the same order as in the second round”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Bernard Patry and it was agreed to.

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

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That, at the discretion of the Chair, witnesses be given ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement;

And that, at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses the time allocated to each party be as follows:

1st round (7 minutes each)

— Liberal

— Bloc Québécois

— NDP

— Conservative

Conservative 2nd round (5 minutes each)

— Liberal

— Conservative

— Bloc Québécois

— Conservative

— Liberal

— NDP

And that, if there is a 3rd round of questioning the Committee will revert to the same order as in the second round;

And that, when a minister is in attendance the order and time allocation for questioning witnesses be the same as above, with the exception that in the first round of questioning ten (10) minutes be allocated to each party.

At 9:33 a.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.