Special Committee on Canada-China Relations (CACN)

Mandate

The House of Commons appointed a special committee with the mandate to conduct hearings to examine and review all aspects of the Canada–China relationship, including, but not limited to, consular, economic, legal, security and diplomatic relations on December 10, 2019. On September 23, 2020, the House reestablished the special committee.

Summary of Committee Activity

During the period of April 1 to August 18, 2020, the special committee held four meetings. The special committee heard from the President of the Central Tibetan Administration, and from a former Canadian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China. The special committee also received testimony from several witnesses on the situation in Hong Kong.

During the period of September 23 to December 31, 2020, the committee held 12 meetings. On October 9, the committee held its first meeting of the session during which it elected the Hon. Geoff Regan as Chair and resumed its study of Canada-China relations with a special focus on the situation in Hong Kong. During this period it heard from a variety of witnesses including two former ambassadors of Canada to the People’s Republic of China, the minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade as well as the Ambassador of Canada to the People’s Republic of China. The committee presented its first report to the House on October 19. On November 30, the committee commenced consideration of a draft report focusing on the situation in Hong Kong.

Between January 1 and March 31, 2021, the committee held nine meetings. The committee first completed its consideration of the draft report on the situation in Hong Kong and presented its second report on February 25. The committee then resumed its study of Canada-China relations, with a special focus on issues regarding national security and heard from 17 witnesses, including the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. On March 31, the committee held a meeting at the request of four members of the committee (S.O. 106(4)) in the presence of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel and the Deputy Law Clerk.

Membership (as of March 31, 2021)

Hon. Geoff Regan (Chair), Garnett Genuis (Vice-Chair), Stéphane Bergeron (Vice-Chair), Jack Harris (Vice-Chair), Hon. Michael D. Chong, Emmanuel Dubourg, Peter Fragiskatos, Robert Oliphant, Pierre Paul-Hus, John Williamson, Jean Yip, Lenore Zann

Expenditures (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021)

For general information on the following table, see the “Note to Reader – Expenditures”.

Study Name	Witness Expenses ($)	Video Conferences ($)	Working Meals ($)	Hospitality ($)	Other ($)	Total ($)
Operational Budget	0	2,072	1,108	0	0	3,181
Total	0	2,072	1,108	0	0	3,181

Meetings, Witnesses and Reports (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021)

For general information on the following table, see the “Note to Reader – Meetings, Witnesses and Reports”.

Special Committee and Subcommittee	Total Number of Meetings	Number of Televised Meetings	Number of Webcast Meetings	Number of Meetings with Video-conferencing	Number of Meetings with Video Recording	Total Meeting Hours	Number of Witnesses	Number of Reports
Special Committee (CACN)	25	15	2	16	0	55h33m	60	2
Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure (SCAC)	5	0	0	0	0	7h33m	0	0
Total	30	15	2	16	0	63h06m	60	2

Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic (COVI)

Mandate

On April 20, the House of Commons adopted a motion establishing the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic. The special committee was composed of all members of the House and met for the purposes of considering ministerial announcements, allowing members to present petitions, and questioning ministers of the Crown, including the Prime Minister. The Speaker was the Chair of the committee.

Summary of Committee Activity

The special committee held its first meeting on April 28, 2020. From April to mid-May, the committee met three times per week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, meetings were held by videoconference using an adapted version of the Zoom application and, on Wednesdays, meetings were held in person in the House of Commons Chamber. Each Wednesday, after the questioning of ministers, the committee would consider a motion “That the committee take note of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic”. It should be noted that Ministers were permitted to present documents to the House during these meetings. On Monday, May 25, 2020, the House adopted a second motion in relation to the special committee. This motion enabled the committee to meet on Mondays and allowed all future meetings to be held in a hybrid fashion, meaning that members could attend either in person meetings in the House of Commons Chamber or by videoconference. It also extended the duration of questioning of ministers and eliminated additional debate relating to the motion “That the committee take note of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic” that was taking place on Wednesdays. In the period covered by this report, the special committee held 25 meetings. Pursuant to the motion adopted on May 25, 2020, the committee ceased to exist on June 18, 2020.

Membership (as of June 18, 2020)

Hon. Anthony Rota (Chair), Ziad Aboultaif, Scott Aitchison, Dan Albas, Hon. Omar Alghabra, Leona Alleslev, Dean Allison, William Amos, Hon. Anita Anand, Gary Anandasangaree, Charlie Angus, Mel Arnold, René Arseneault, Chandra Arya, Niki Ashton, Jenica Atwin, Taylor Bachrach, Vance Badawey, Hon. Larry Bagnell, Hon. Navdeep Bains, Yvan Baker, Tony Baldinelli, John Barlow, Michael Barrett, Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Jaime Battiste, Mario Beaulieu, Terry Beech, Rachel Bendayan, Hon. Carolyn Bennett, Bob Benzen, Hon. Candice Bergen, Stéphane Bergeron, Luc Berthold, Sylvie Bérubé, Lyne Bessette, James Bezan, Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, Chris Bittle, Daniel Blaikie, Hon. Bill Blair, Yves-François Blanchet, Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Rachel Blaney, Hon. Steven Blaney, Kelly Block, Kody Blois, Michel Boudrias, Alexandre Boulerice, Richard Bragdon, John Brassard, Bob Bratina, Élisabeth Brière, Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Blaine Calkins, Richard Cannings, Hon. Jim Carr, Colin Carrie, Sean Casey, Louise Chabot, Hon. Bardish Chagger, Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, Martin Champoux, Louise Charbonneau, Shaun Chen, Kenny Chiu, Hon. Michael D. Chong, Laurel Collins, Michael Cooper, Serge Cormier, James Cumming, Julie Dabrusin, Marc Dalton, Pam Damoff, Raquel Dancho, Scot Davidson, Don Davies, Claude DeBellefeuille, Gérard Deltell, Chris D'Entremont, Caroline Desbiens, Luc Desilets, Sukh Dhaliwal, Anju Dhillon, Kerry Diotte, Todd Doherty, Han Dong, Terry Dowdall, Earl Dreeshen, Francis Drouin, Emmanuel Dubourg, Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, Terry Duguid, Eric Duncan, Hon. Kirsty Duncan, Scott Duvall, Julie Dzerowicz, Hon. Wayne Easter, Ali Ehsassi, Fayçal El-Khoury, Neil R. Ellis, Dave Epp, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Rosemarie Falk, Ted Falk, Hon. Ed Fast, Greg Fergus, Andy Fillmore, Hon. Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay, Hon. Diane Finley, Pat Finnigan, Darren Fisher, Peter Fonseca, Hon. Mona Fortier, Rhéal Éloi Fortin, Peter Fragiskatos, Sean Fraser, Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Hon. Hedy Fry, Cheryl Gallant, Hon. Marc Garneau, Randall Garrison, Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Leah Gazan, Bernard Généreux, Garnett Genuis, Mark Gerretsen, Marilène Gill, Marilyn Gladu, Joël Godin, Hon. Karina Gould, Jacques Gourde, Tracy Gray, Matthew Green, Hon. Steven Guilbeault, Hon. Patty Hajdu, Jasraj Singh Hallan, Rachael Harder, Ken Hardie, Jack Harris, Randy Hoback, Hon. Mark Holland, Anthony Housefather, Carol Hughes, Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Gudie Hutchings, Angelo Iacono, Helena Jaczek, Tamara Jansen, Matt Jeneroux, Gord Johns, Hon. Mélanie Joly, Yvonne Jones, Hon. Bernadette Jordan, Majid Jowhari, Peter Julian, Mike Kelloway, Pat Kelly, Hon. Peter Kent, Iqra Khalid, Kamal Khera, Robert Kitchen, Tom Kmiec, Annie Koutrakis, Michael Kram, Damien C. Kurek, Stephanie Kusie, Irek Kusmierczyk, Jenny Kwan, Hon. Mike Lake, Marie-France Lalonde, Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Hon. David Lametti, Kevin Lamoureux, Andréanne Larouche, Patricia Lattanzio, Stéphane Lauzon, Philip Lawrence, Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, Hon. Diane Lebouthillier, Paul Lefebvre, Richard Lehoux, Sébastien Lemire, Michael Levitt, Chris Lewis, Ron Liepert, Joël Lightbound, Dane Lloyd, Ben Lobb, Wayne Long, Lloyd Longfield, Tim Louis, Tom Lukiwski, Hon. Lawrence MacAulay, Alistair MacGregor, Dave MacKenzie, Steven MacKinnon, Larry Maguire, James Maloney, Paul Manly, Simon Marcil, Richard Martel, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Brian Masse, Lindsay Mathyssen, Bryan May, Elizabeth May, Dan Mazier, Kelly McCauley, Phil McColeman, Karen McCrimmon, Ken McDonald, Hon. David J. McGuinty, Hon. John McKay, Hon. Catherine McKenna, Ron McKinnon, Greg McLean, Cathy McLeod, Michael V. McLeod, Heather McPherson, Eric Melillo, Alexandra Mendès, Hon. Marco Mendicino, Kristina Michaud, Hon. Marc Miller, Hon. Maryam Monsef, Hon. Rob Moore, Marty Morantz, Hon. Bill Morneau, Rob Morrison, Robert J. Morrissey, Glen Motz, Hon. Joyce Murray, John Nater, Hon. Mary Ng, Christine Normandin, Jennifer O'Connell, Robert Oliphant, Hon. Seamus O'Regan, Hon. Erin O'Toole, Jeremy Patzer, Pierre Paul-Hus, Monique Pauzé, Yves Perron, Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Louis Plamondon, Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Marcus Powlowski, Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, Hon. Carla Qualtrough, Yasmin Ratansi, Alain Rayes, Brad Redekopp, Hon. Geoff Regan, Scott Reid, Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner, Blake Richards, Yves Robillard, Hon. Pablo Rodriguez, Churence Rogers, Sherry Romanado, Lianne Rood, Alex Ruff, Jag Sahota, Ruby Sahota, Raj Saini, Hon. Harjit S. Sajjan, Darell Samson, Ramesh Sangha, Randeep Sarai, Bob Saroya, Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Francis Scarpaleggia, Hon. Andrew Scheer, Peter Schiefke, Jamie Schmale, Hon. Deb Schulte, Kyle Seeback, Marc G. Serré, Hon. Judy A. Sgro, Brenda Shanahan, Terry Sheehan, Martin Shields, Nelly Shin, Doug Shipley, Maninder Sidhu, Sonia Sidhu, Gagan Sikand, Mario Simard, Scott Simms, Jagmeet Singh, Derek Sloan, Francesco Sorbara, Gerald Soroka, Sven Spengemann, Bruce Stanton, Warren Steinley, Gabriel Ste-Marie, Mark Strahl, Shannon Stubbs, David Sweet, Marwan Tabbara, Hon. Filomena Tassi, Luc Thériault, Alain Therrien, Corey Tochor, Right Hon. Justin Trudeau, Denis Trudel, Ryan Turnbull, Hon. Tim Uppal, Tony Van Bynen, Adam van Koeverden, Tako Van Popta, Hon. Dan Vandal, Anita Vandenbeld, Adam Vaughan, Karen Vecchio, Gary Vidal, Arnold Viersen, Julie Vignola, Arif Virani, Brad Vis, Cathy Wagantall, Chris Warkentin, Kevin Waugh, Len Webber, Patrick Weiler, Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, John Williamson, Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould, Hon. Alice Wong, Jean Yip, Kate Young, David Yurdiga, Salma Zahid, Lenore Zann, Bob Zimmer, Sameer Zuberi

Expenditures (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021)

For general information on the following table, see the “Note to Reader – Expenditures”.

Study Name	Witness Expenses ($)	Video Conferences ($)	Working Meals ($)	Hospitality ($)	Other ($)	Total ($)
Operational Budget	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

Expenditures incurred for this special committee were not charged to the global envelope available to committees for their activities.

Meetings, Witnesses and Reports (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021)

For general information on the following table, see the “Note to Reader – Meetings, Witnesses and Reports”.

Special Committee	Total Number of Meetings	Number of Televised Meetings	Number of Webcast Meetings	Number of Meetings with Video-conferencing	Number of Meetings with Video Recording	Total Meeting Hours	Number of Witnesses	Number of Reports
Special Committee (COVI)	25	25	0	0	25	62h07m	0	0
Total	25	25	0	0	25	62h07m	0	0

Special Committee on the Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States (CAAM)

Mandate

The House of Commons appointed a special committee with the mandate to conduct hearings to examine and review all aspects of the economic relationship between Canada and the United States on February 16, 2021.

Summary of Committee Activity

On February 23, the special committee had its first meeting. Members elected Raj Saini as Chair of the committee. On March 2, the committee held its first meeting on the economic relationship between Canada and the United States. Pursuant to the motion adopted in the House, the first few meetings focused on Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline. The committee also heard from the Canadian Ambassador to the United States and the Minister of Natural Resources as part of this study.

Membership (as of March 31, 2021)

Raj Saini (Chair), Mark Strahl (Vice-Chair), Daniel Blaikie (Vice-Chair), Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Vice-Chair), Leona Alleslev, Rachel Bendayan, Randy Hoback, Anthony Housefather, Chris Lewis, Hon. John McKay, Sherry Romanado, Randeep Sarai

Expenditures (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021)

For general information on the following table, see the “Note to Reader – Expenditures”.

Study Name	Witness Expenses ($)	Video Conferences ($)	Working Meals ($)	Hospitality ($)	Other ($)	Total ($)
Operational Budget	0	866	0	0	0	866
Total	0	866	0	0	0	866

Meetings, Witnesses and Reports (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021)

For general information on the following table, see the “Note to Reader – Meetings, Witnesses and Reports”.

Special Committee and Subcommittee	Total Number of Meetings	Number of Televised Meetings	Number of Webcast Meetings	Number of Meetings with Video-conferencing	Number of Meetings with Video Recording	Total Meeting Hours	Number of Witnesses	Number of Reports
Special Committee (CAAM)	6	4	2	5	0	12h45m	28	0
Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure (SCAA)	2	0	0	0	0	0h58m	0	0
Total	8	4	2	5	0	13h43m	28	0