On motion of Ken Hardie, it was agreed, — That Ken McDonald be elected Chair of the committee.

At 8:58 a.m., Ken McDonald took the Chair.

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

On motion of Bernard Généreux, it was agreed, — That Marilène Gill be elected Second Vice-Chair of the committee.

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

Robert J. Morrissey moved, — 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 members are present, including one member of the opposition and one member of the government, but when travelling outside the parliamentary precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.

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 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 members are present, including two members of the opposition and two members of the government, but when travelling outside the parliamentary precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.

On motion of Robert J. Morrissey, it was agreed, — That witnesses be given 10 minutes for their opening statement; 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: Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party; for the second round and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows: Conservative Party, five minutes, Liberal Party, five minutes, Conservative Party, five minutes, Liberal Party, five minutes, Bloc Québécois, two and a half minutes, New Democratic Party, two and a half minutes.

On motion of Robert J. Morrissey, it was agreed, — That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the committee only when the documents are available in both official languages, and that witnesses be advised accordingly.

On motion of Robert J. Morrissey, it was agreed, — That the clerk of the committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and its subcommittees.

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

It was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to have one staff member at an in camera meeting and that one additional person from each House officer's office be allowed to be present.

On motion of Robert J. Morrissey, 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.

On motion of Robert J. Morrissey, it was agreed, — That a 48 hours notice, interpreted as a two 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 or on non-business days be deemed to have been received during the next business day and that when the committee is travelling on official business, no substantive motions may be moved.

On motion of Robert J. Morrissey, it was agreed, — 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.

Ken Hardie gave notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), given the decline in pacific salmon stocks and the ongoing situation with Big Bar Landslide, the committee undertake a study on the state of Pacific Salmon and make recommendations on next steps to ensure for the long-term health of these stocks, as well as the commercial, indigenous and recreational fisheries that depend on them; and that the committee call witnesses including senior departmental officials, First Nations, and relevant stakeholder groups to testify before committee.

At 9:13 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 9:15 a.m., the sitting resumed.

Robert J. Morrissey gave notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), given the potential consequences of seal predation on fish stocks along the East coast and following the government’s creation of an Atlantic Seal Science Task Team; that the committee undertake a study on seal predation and their effects on Atlantic fish stocks, primarily off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador and explore the potential for other viable domestic markets for seal products; that the committee strongly consider travel to countries such as Scotland, Norway and Iceland which acted to conserve fish stocks as a result of seal populations; that the Chair be empowered to coordinate the necessary witnesses, travel, resources and scheduling to complete this task; that the committee call witnesses including senior departmental officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and interested stakeholder groups to testify before the committee; and that the committee report its conclusions and recommendations to the House.

Robert J. Morrissey gave notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study to examine the issue of seafood mislabeling and the potential economic, conservation and food safety risks that it poses to Canadian consumers as well as fishers and producers; that the Chair be empowered to coordinate the necessary witnesses, travel, resources and scheduling to complete this task; and that the committee report its conclusions and recommendations to the House.

Gord Johns moved, — That any motion to go in camera should be debatable and amendable; and that the committee may only meet in camera for the following purposes:

(a) to discuss administrative matters of the committee;

(b) a draft a report;

(c) briefings concerning national security;

Furthermore, minutes of in camera meetings should reflect on the results of all votes taken by the committee while in camera, including how each member voted when a recorded vote is requested.

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

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That any motion to go in camera should be debatable and amendable; and that the committee may only meet in camera for the following purposes:

(a) to discuss administrative matters of the committee, including selection and consideration of witnesses;

(b) a draft a report;

(c) briefings concerning national security;

And furthermore, minutes of in camera meetings should reflect on the results of all votes taken by the committee while in camera, including how each member voted when a recorded vote is requested.