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ENVI Committee Meeting

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Minutes of Proceedings

44th Parliament, 1st Session
Meeting 1
Tuesday, December 14, 2021, 11:17 a.m. to 12:33 p.m.
Webcast

House of Commons
• Angela Crandall, Procedural Clerk
 
Library of Parliament
• Alison Clegg, Analyst
• Natacha Kramski, Analyst
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(1) and the Order adopted by the House of Commons on Thursday, December 2, 2021, the committee met for the purpose of electing a chair.

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the clerk of the committee presided over the election of a chair.

On motion of Dan Albas, it was agreed, — That Francis Scarpaleggia be elected Chair of the committee.

At 11:19 a.m., Francis Scarpaleggia took the Chair.

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the clerk of the committee presided over the election of vice-chairs.

On motion of Terry Duguid, it was agreed, — That Dan Albas be elected First Vice-Chair of the committee.

On motion of Leah Taylor Roy, it was agreed, — That Monique Pauzé elected Second Vice-Chair of the committee.

The committee proceeded to the consideration of matters related to committee business.

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, 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 Lloyd Longfield, 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 recognized party; and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration.

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, it was agreed, — 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 fifteen minutes, regardless of members present.

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, it was agreed, — 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
Libral 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.

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, 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 Lloyd Longfield, it was agreed, — 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.

Motion

Lloyd Longfield moved, — 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.

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

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, it was agreed, — 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.

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, 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; and that the analysts assigned to the committee also have access to the in camera transcripts.

Motion

Lloyd Longfield moved, — 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.

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

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, 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.

Motion

Lloyd Longfield moved, — 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.

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

Motion

Lloyd Longfield moved, — 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.

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

Motion

Laurel Collins moved, — That, when it comes to the makeup of witness panels during studies, each party represented on the committee be entitled to select one witness per panel; that if no witness is designated by a party, a decision be made by the clerk after consultation with the Chair; that this motion not apply when ministers or government officials appear before committee; and that when this condition cannot be met, the Chair and the clerk consult with members of the subcommittee to finalize the make up of the panel.

After debate, the question was put on the motion and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Dan Albas, Laurel Collins, Scot Davidson, Earl Dreeshen, Dan Mazier, Monique Pauzé — 6;

NAYS: Terry Duguid, Lloyd Longfield, Leah Taylor Roy, Joanne Thompson, Patrick Weiler — 5.

Motion

Laurel Collins moved, — That, for the second meeting of the committee, the committee invite the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to provide a briefing on the office and role of the commissioner and the 2021 Fall Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, and that the meeting be televised.

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

Motion

Monique Pauzé moved, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of zero-emission vehicles; that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session; that the committee adopt the report entitled The Road Ahead: Encouraging the Production and Purchase of Zero-emission Vehicles in Canada adopted during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament and tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, April 13, 2021; that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request the government to table a comprehensive response to the report.

Debate arose thereon.

Amendment

Dan Albas moved, — That the motion be amended by adding after the words “to the report” the following: “that any party that wishes to submit a dissenting report must do so by end of business day, the day this motion is adopted''.

Debate arose thereon.

At 12:17 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 12:20 p.m., the sitting resumed.

The committee resumed consideration of the motion of Monique Pauzé, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of zero-emission vehicles; that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session; that the committee adopt the report entitled The Road Ahead: Encouraging the Production and Purchase of Zero-emission Vehicles in Canada adopted during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament and tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, April 13, 2021; that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request the government to table a comprehensive response to the report.

The committee resumed consideration of the amendment of Dan Albas, — That the motion be amended by adding after the words “to the report” the following: “that any party that wishes to submit a dissenting report must do so by end of business day, the day this motion is adopted”.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Dan Albas and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Dan Albas, Laurel Collins, Scot Davidson, Earl Dreeshen, Terry Duguid, Lloyd Longfield, Dan Mazier, Monique Pauzé, Leah Taylor Roy, Joanne Thompson, Patrick Weiler — 11;

NAYS: — 0.

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

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of zero-emission vehicles; that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session; that the committee adopt the report entitled The Road Ahead: Encouraging the Production and Purchase of Zero-emission Vehicles in Canada adopted during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament and tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, April 13, 2021; that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request the government to table a comprehensive response to the report; that any party that wishes to submit a dissenting report must do so by end of business day, the day this motion is adopted.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), and the motion adopted on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. the committee commenced its study of zero-emission vehicles.

It was agreed, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.

ORDERED — That the Chair present the report to the House.

The committee proceeded to the consideration of matters related to committee business.

Motion

Monique Pauzé moved, — That pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development undertake a study for a comprehensive review of nuclear waste governance in Canada and its impacts on the environment, including the issues raised by the import of these wastes and the trade in medical technologies; that the committee invite the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, the Minister of Natural Resources, representatives of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), experts, and other stakeholders; that the committee hold a minimum of five meetings and that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.

Debate arose thereon.

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, it was agreed, — That the motion be referred to the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure.

On motion of Lloyd Longfield, it was agreed, — That the subcommittee on agenda and procedure meet on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.

On motion of Dan Albas, it was agreed, — That the committee do now adjourn.

At 12:33 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.



Alexandre Longpré
Clerk of the Committee