On motion of Sven Spengemann, it was agreed, — That Karen McCrimmon be elected chair of the committee.

On motion of Cheryl Gallant, it was agreed, — That James Bezan be elected first vice-chair of the committee.

Yvan Baker moved, — That Michel Boudrias be elected second vice-chair of the committee.

Cheryl Gallant moved, — That Randall Garrison be elected second vice-chair of the committee.

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(3), the election was conducted by secret ballot.

The ballots having been counted, Michel Boudrias was declared duly elected second vice-chair.

On motion of Sven Spengemann, 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 Sven Spengemann, it was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of five (5) members, namely the chair and one member from each recognized party; and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration.

Sven Spengemann moved, — That the chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive and publish evidence when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four (4) members are present, including a member of the opposition and one member of the government, but when travelling outside the parliamentary precinct, that the meeting begin after fifteen (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 and publish evidence when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four (4) members are present, including a member of the official opposition, one member of another opposition party and one member of the government, but when travelling outside the parliamentary precinct, that the meeting begin after fifteen (15) minutes, regardless of members present.

Sven Spengemann moved, — That the witnesses be given ten (10) minutes for their opening statement; That, at the discretion of the chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six (6) minutes for the first questioner of each party as follows: Round 1: 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: 5 minutes, Liberal Party: 5 minutes, Conservative Party: 5 minutes, Liberal Party: 5 minutes, Bloc Québécois: 2.5 minutes, New Democratic Party: 2.5 minutes.

James Bezan moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “Bloc Québécois: 2.5 minutes, New Democratic Party: 2.5 minutes” with the words “Conservative Party: 5 minutes, Liberal Party: 5 minutes, Bloc Québécois: 3 minutes, New Democratic Party: 3 minutes”.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 6; NAYS: 4.

On motion of Sven Spengemann, it was agreed, — That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the committee and only when such documents exist in both official languages, and that witnesses be advised accordingly.

On motion of Sven Spengemann, 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 Sven Spengemann, 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.

Sven Spengemann moved, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to have one staff member at in camera meetings and that one additional person from each House Officer's office be allowed to be present.

After debate, the question was put on the motion and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 8; NAYS: 2.

On motion of Sven Spengemann, 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 Sven Spengemann, it was agreed, — That forty-eight (48) hours' notice, interpreted as 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 one notice be filed with the clerk of the committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; that 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 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 be moved.

On motion of Sven Spengemann, 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.

Randall Garrison 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, including witness selection, meeting schedules and locations of the meetings; (b) to consider draft reports; (c) briefings concerning national security; (d) to receive testimony from a witness where necessary for the protection and security of the witness.

By unanimous consent, it was agreed, — That the debate be now adjourned.

On motion of Cheryl Gallant, it was agreed, — That when a minister, the Chief of Defence Staff, or any other officer of Parliament and/or ombudsman appear before the committee, that any public meetings be televised, or it not possible, webcast.

James Bezan moved, — That the Committee invite the Minister of National Defence to appear regarding Supplementary Estimates (B), 2019-20 before March 13th, 2020 for no fewer than two hours, and that the meeting be televised.

Debate arose thereon.

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

It was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure meet on Wednesday, February 26, 2020.

Randall Garrison gave notice of the following motions:

That the Standing Committee on National Defence conduct a study on access to mental health services within the Canadian Armed Forces. The study will consist of witness testimony from Department officials and stakeholder groups to address the suicide epidemic within the Canadian Armed Forces and will also study the proposed effects of removing self-harm, Section 98(c) of the Military Justice Act, would have on the access to mental health care for military service members as outlined in Private Members’ Bill C-203. The findings shall be reported to the House of Commons upon completion of the study.

That the Standing Committee on National Defence invite Canada’s Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security, Jacqueline O’Neill, to appear before the committee to provide a briefing on the work being done by her office and how the office of the Ambassador is contributing to Canadian defence policy and how the operations of the Department of National Defence can contribute to the work of the Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security, and that this briefing would be made the first item in priority for the committee to study once routine motions and the election of the Chair and Vice-Chairs have been decided.

Cheryl Gallant gave notice of the following motion:

That the Minister of National Defence appear at the Committee for no fewer than two hours to provide Members with a briefing on Operation IMPACT and the Canadian-led NATO capacity building and support mission in Iraq, and that the meeting be televised.

James Bezan gave notice of the following motions:

That the Parliamentary Budget Officer appear at Committee for no fewer than two hours to provide Members with a briefing on his February 2019 report, Fiscal Analysis of the Interim F-18 Aircraft and that the meeting be televised.

That the Committee undertake a study on the state of Canada’s NORAD modernization and need for critical upgrades, that the meetings be televised, that the findings be reported to the House, and that the Government table a comprehensive response.

Richard Martel gave notice of the following motion:

That the Auditor General appear before the Committee before March 5th, 2020 concerning the Fall 2018 Report 3 – Canada’s Fighter Force – National Defence, and that the meeting be televised.

Terry Dowdall gave notice of the following motion:

That the Committee, in accordance with its mandate under Standing Order 111 (1) and (2), invite the Department of National Defence Assistant Deputy Minister (Materiel) appointed on November 11th, 2019 to testify before the Committee, and that the meeting be televised.

At 4:49 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 4:51 p.m., the sitting resumed.

At 4:52 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 4:52 p.m., the sitting resumed.