Chapter 20Committees

Committee Membership, Leadership and Staff

To ensure the success of their work, committees count on the participation of their key players, in other words, their members. Guidance of the work is mainly in the hands of its leadership, that is, the Chair, and if any, the Vice-Chairs. To assist committees in organizing and completing studies and projects, staff from the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament are made available to committees by the administrations of the two organizations.

Membership

The number of members varies depending on the type of committee. There are three basic types of members: regular members, non-voting members (applicable to Parliamentary Secretaries) and, in the case of standing and standing joint committees only, associate members.

Members and Associate Members

Status of Members, Associate Members and Non-Members

The status of member of a committee is accorded to Members of the House of Commons who belong officially to that committee as appointed by the House. This status allows them to participate fully in their committee’s proceedings. Members may move motions,³⁹⁸ vote and be counted for purposes of a quorum.³⁹⁹ They may also submit notices of motion if their committee requires such notice. Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries cannot be regular members of a committee.⁴⁰⁰

The Chief Government Whip may designate one or more Parliamentary Secretaries as non-voting members of a committee by filing a notification with the clerk of the committee in question. This status gives them all the rights and privileges of a committee member, aside from the right to vote, move any motion or be part of any quorum.⁴⁰¹

Standing and standing joint committees also have associate members. Associate members may be named to subcommittees and may act as substitutes for regular committee members who are unable to attend a committee meeting.⁴⁰² When Members serve on subcommittees or as substitutes for regular members, they enjoy all the rights of regular members:⁴⁰³ they are counted for purposes of a quorum; they may participate in debate; they may move motions and vote; and, if required, they may submit a notice of motion. The use of associate members on subcommittees helps to reduce the workload of regular members.

The Standing Orders provide that any Member, whether affiliated with a political party or sitting as an independent, may take part in the public proceedings of any committee of which he or she is not a member, unless the House or the committee in question orders otherwise.⁴⁰⁴ The Standing Orders specifically exclude a non-member from voting, moving motions or being counted for purposes of a quorum.⁴⁰⁵

Committees often adopt a routine motion that governs the process and time allotted for committee members to question witnesses.⁴⁰⁶ A non-member is able to participate in such proceedings if a committee member chooses to share his or her time for questioning.⁴⁰⁷ Alternatively, a committee could decide to suspend temporarily its routine motion and agree to give time to a non-member during the questioning of witnesses.⁴⁰⁸

With the exception of joint committees, the Standing Orders do not provide for the participation of Senators in meetings of committees of the House of Commons.⁴⁰⁹

Establishing Committee Membership

Committees cannot take up the responsibilities assigned to them until their members have been named.⁴¹⁰ It is the House, and the House alone, that appoints the members and associate members of its committees, as well as the Members who will represent it on joint committees. The Speaker has ruled that this is a fundamental right of the House.⁴¹¹ The committees themselves have no powers at all in this regard.⁴¹²

In the vast majority of cases, the House sets the number, or the maximum number, of members for each committee. The number of members to be selected from each of the recognized parties is the subject of negotiation among the parties at the beginning of each Parliament. The resulting agreement is not set down in the Standing Orders, but is reflected in the composition of each committee, which generally reflects the proportions of the various recognized parties in the House.⁴¹³

The House has adopted committee membership mechanisms that enable it to rely largely on the recognized political parties to prepare the lists of members and associate members. As a result, an independent Member rarely sits on a committee unless a recognized political party allots him or her one of its seats.⁴¹⁴

Members may belong to more than one committee, as either regular or associate members. Current practice normally excludes from committee membership those who have other parliamentary functions, such as the Speaker⁴¹⁵ and the other Chair Occupants,⁴¹⁶ and the leaders of recognized parties.⁴¹⁷ Ministers, including the Prime Minister,⁴¹⁸ cannot serve on or act as a substitute on any committee.⁴¹⁹ Until recently, Parliamentary Secretaries were normally regular members of the standing committees that had a mandate in their area of responsibility, but this changed at the commencement of the Forty-Second Parliament and led to the creation of the status of non-voting member.⁴²⁰

Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs

For assistance in determining the membership of many of its committees, the House uses its Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs as a striking committee, that is, to prepare lists of members for standing, legislative and sometimes special committees.⁴²¹ The lists are then reported to the House for approval. As a result of the Committee’s key role, there is a special procedure for appointing its members.⁴²² At the start of the first session of a Parliament,⁴²³ the Government House Leader normally moves a motion⁴²⁴ to appoint the members of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.⁴²⁵ The members of the Committee continue in this capacity from session to session throughout the life of a Parliament. At its first meeting, following the election of its Chair, the Committee usually decides to delegate to the Whips of the recognized parties the authority to prepare lists of committee members and associate members for proposal to the House.⁴²⁶

Standing and Standing Joint Committees

The Standing Orders specify the number of members to sit on standing committees.⁴²⁷ The Standing Orders do not fix the number of representatives of the Commons on standing joint committees, but they do require the House to appoint enough Members to reflect the proportional relationship between the two Houses of Parliament.⁴²⁸ This relationship is roughly one-third (Senate) to two-thirds (House of Commons). The number of members on each standing joint committee varies from session to session depending on the number of Senators and Members that the two Houses of Parliament appoint to them.

Within the first 10 sitting days following its appointment at the beginning of a Parliament, and thereafter, within the first 10 sitting days after the commencement of each session,⁴²⁹ the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs must report to the House a list of members for standing committees and of the Members who will sit on standing joint committees.⁴³⁰

The list of members of standing committees and standing joint committees⁴³¹ takes effect when the House concurs in the report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.⁴³² Until the report has been concurred in, any previous memberships approved by the House during the session remain in effect.⁴³³

The Standing Orders also give the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs responsibility for drawing up a list of associate members.⁴³⁴ They set no limit on the number of associate members per committee, nor do they set a deadline for presenting the House with a list of associate members. For practical reasons, the Committee usually reports this list to the House at the same time as its list of regular members. Here again, the list of associate members takes effect only when it has been concurred in by the House.⁴³⁵

Legislative Committees

Within five sitting days after the start of debate in the House on a motion to establish a legislative committee or to refer a bill to one, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs must meet to draw up a list of no more than 15 members for the legislative committee.⁴³⁶ The list must be reported to the House no later than the Thursday following the Committee’s first meeting on that matter, and the report is deemed concurred in upon presentation.⁴³⁷ The membership list, which is then in effect, does not include the Chair of the committee, who is named separately by the Speaker.⁴³⁸

Special Committees and Special Joint Committees

The Standing Orders provide that special committees shall have no more than 15 members.⁴³⁹ The membership of special committees may be established in several ways: the order of reference establishing a special committee may include the names of its members;⁴⁴⁰ the members may be appointed separately by order of the House;⁴⁴¹ or the order of reference establishing the special committee may contain an instruction to a striking committee⁴⁴² or the Whips of the recognized parties to prepare and bring in a list of names of Members.⁴⁴³ The report from a striking committee must be concurred in by the House for it to come into effect.

In the case of special joint committees, the list of Members who will represent the Commons may be included in the order of reference that establishes the committee.⁴⁴⁴ The members may also be appointed later, either by the adoption of a motion of the House⁴⁴⁵ or by concurrence in a report from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.⁴⁴⁶ The House typically informs the Senate which Members will represent it, either by way of a message or by communicating the original order of reference (if it contains the membership list).⁴⁴⁷ Unlike special Commons committees, the number of members on special joint committees is not limited; it can be whatever the two Houses prefer. By practice, the number of Members appointed to a special joint committee reflects the relative proportions of the Senate and the House of Commons.

Subcommittees

The membership of a subcommittee is usually determined by the main committee. Members of subcommittees may be named directly as part of the order of reference agreed to by the main committee,⁴⁴⁸ but more often the main committee simply states in the order of reference the number of Members per recognized political party who will make up the subcommittee. It lets the Whips designate the Members belonging to their parties who will be regular members of the subcommittee.⁴⁴⁹ The membership of the subcommittee is complete once the Whips have designated their members. In some cases, the main committee will use a combination of these two methods.⁴⁵⁰ The House itself may also name the members of a subcommittee.⁴⁵¹

The members of a subcommittee may be selected from the regular members of the main committee, or from the list of associate members in the case of a subcommittee of a standing or standing joint committee.⁴⁵² The House or the main committee ultimately decides the number of members for a given subcommittee; the Standing Orders impose no limit in this regard.⁴⁵³

The membership of a subcommittee need not necessarily reflect the proportions of party membership either on the main committee or in the House itself. For example, when committees have agreed to establish subcommittees on agenda and procedure (steering committees), their memberships have varied considerably to suit individual committees’ needs. Typically, the steering committee of a standing committee consists of the main committee’s Chair, its two Vice-Chairs and two other members of the government party.⁴⁵⁴ The steering committee of a legislative committee usually consists of the Chair and a representative of each of the parties.

Changes in Membership

Members of the House who are appointed to committees as regular or associate members retain this status until the House, or a mechanism authorized by the House,⁴⁵⁵ designates replacements for them (in the case of regular members) or removes them from the list (in the case of associate members).⁴⁵⁶ This applies even when Members can no longer carry out their functions on a committee (for example, in the event of a Member’s death or resignation from the House),⁴⁵⁷ no longer wish to do so (for example, because of a change in the portfolio they have been given by their party), or cease to be members of the recognized party which they were appointed to represent.⁴⁵⁸

Changes regarding Parliamentary Secretaries appointed as non-voting members of a standing, special or legislative committee are made following the same process as their initial appointment.

Standing and Standing Joint Committees

When a Member wishes to resign from a standing committee or a standing joint committee, the Member would usually inform their party Whip or write to the Chair of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs;⁴⁵⁹ the resignation takes effect when a report of the Committee naming a replacement has been concurred in by the House. In the case of Members who die or resign their seats, their party Whip will ensure that the necessary replacements are arranged.

Members who would like to be added to or removed from the list of associate members of a given committee inform their Whip, who takes the necessary steps.⁴⁶⁰

Any change to the lists of members and associate members is done via a report to the House by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. In the case of changes to the list of regular members, the report indicates the name(s) of the Member(s) being replaced and the new Member(s) being appointed. If changes are being suggested to the list of associate members, the Committee will report additions to or removals from that list. In all cases, changes take effect when the House concurs in the Committee’s report.⁴⁶¹

Legislative Committees

Changes in the membership of legislative committees are effective immediately after a notification of a change is signed by the Chief Whip of the appropriate party and filed with the clerk of the committee.⁴⁶² The notification indicates the names both of the Member being removed from the committee and of the replacement.

Special and Special Joint Committees

Changes in the membership of special committees and in the list of Members sitting on special joint committees are normally done by a special order of the House or by using the mechanisms set out in the initial order of reference creating the committee.⁴⁶³

Subcommittees

A main committee may modify the membership of one of its subcommittees if it appointed the subcommittee’s members, but not if the House has done so.⁴⁶⁴ If the members of the subcommittee were named in the motion creating the subcommittee, the main committee must adopt another motion providing for the permanent replacement of some members by others. If the initial motion left it up to the Whips of the recognized parties to designate members, changes to the membership list may be made by the Whips, who then inform the clerk of the subcommittee.⁴⁶⁵ Motions creating a subcommittee often designate officers of the main committee (Chair, Vice-Chairs) as members of the subcommittee.⁴⁶⁶ If other Members assume these leadership functions in the course of the session, they automatically become members of the subcommittee without further formal action.

Substitutions

Status of Substitutes

It is generally accepted that Members who have been appointed to a committee are required to attend its meetings.⁴⁶⁷ However, this may not be possible on occasion. When members of some types of committee are unable to attend its meetings, they can be replaced by designated substitutes. While a substitution is in effect, the substitute enjoys the same rights and privileges as the regular committee member whom he or she is replacing.⁴⁶⁸ Substitutes are counted for purposes of establishing a quorum, and they may move motions (including those of which the member they are replacing has given notice⁴⁶⁹), participate in debate, and vote. Substitutes may also give notice, if the committee requires this, of motions that the member they are replacing, or another substitute for that member, may move at a later meeting.⁴⁷⁰

Substitutes for members who are officers of the committee (for example, its Chair or Vice-Chair) do not, however, assume the prerogatives or responsibilities related to these positions.

At meetings, the very principle of substitution means that it may occur only when the substituted member is absent from the meeting. Thus, a member who is called upon to appear as a witness before a committee of which he or she is a member retains his or her right to participate and vote during the meeting and may not be substituted by another member while present.⁴⁷¹ A member acting as a substitute during a meeting who appears as a witness also retains his or her right to participate and vote.⁴⁷²

Methods of Designating Substitutes

Standing and Standing Joint Committees

The Standing Orders provide for the temporary replacement, by designated substitutes, of members of standing or standing joint committees who are unable to participate in a committee meeting.⁴⁷³

Substitutions are usually in effect when the Chief Whip of the recognized party to which the Member belongs files a signed substitution form with the committee clerk.⁴⁷⁴ For the purpose of substitution, Whips may select any Member belonging to their party, except a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary who is a non-voting member of the same committee.⁴⁷⁵ They may also select one of the independent Members, if any, listed as associate members of the committee.⁴⁷⁶

Independent Members who are regular members of a committee usually occupy a spot traditionally reserved for a Member belonging to one of the recognized parties; therefore, that Member can be substituted only on the initiative of the Chief Whip of the recognized party in question. Independent Members who are associate members may act as a substitute for the party that placed them on the list of associate members.⁴⁷⁷

Ordinarily, substitutions are limited to one day at a time (the day the committee plans to meet). In most cases, a substitution takes effect from the time the committee clerk receives the notice until the end of the meeting or meetings held on the date indicated in the notice, or until the regular member arrives.⁴⁷⁸ More than one notice of substitution for the same regular member may be filed successively with the committee clerk on a day when the committee is meeting, in which case the notice received last automatically replaces the earlier one.

Legislative Committees

Since 2017, substitutions in the membership of legislative committees can be made following the same process as the membership of standing or standing joint committees.⁴⁷⁹ Previously, the Standing Orders did not provide a mechanism for substitutions on legislative committees. Instead, a member of a legislative committee who was temporarily unable to carry out his or her duties had to use the procedure established for changing the membership of a legislative committee.

Special and Special Joint Committees

Substitutions are permitted on special committees and special joint committees only when authorized in their order of reference and only in the manner stipulated in that order. The House has permitted substitutions on special committees in a manner similar to that used by standing committees.⁴⁸⁰ It has also permitted special committee membership to be changed on signed notification by a Chief Whip, as is done for legislative committees.⁴⁸¹

Subcommittees

The substitution mechanisms for subcommittees depend on the type of main committee to which they are attached. For example, the members of subcommittees of standing committees and the Members who sit on subcommittees of a standing joint committee may be substituted following the same procedure applicable to their main committee.

Standing, Special and Legislative Committees: Parliamentary Secretaries

The process for substituting Parliamentary Secretaries appointed as non-voting members is the same for all types of committees. The Chief Government Whip may substitute one Parliamentary Secretary for another by filing a notification with the clerk of the committee. The change is effective immediately. Parliamentary Secretaries can substitute for regular members on any committee unless they are already non-voting members of that committee.⁴⁸²

Participation by Non-Parliamentarians

In the past, some committees have allowed people who were neither Members of the House nor Senators to participate in certain committee studies. These individuals, who represented groups specifically targeted by the studies, were permitted to put questions to witnesses and participate in deliberations and the drafting of reports. They were not permitted to move motions or vote, nor could they be counted for purposes of a quorum.⁴⁸³

Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Acting Chairs

Roles of Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Acting Chairs

Role of Chairs

The Chair is a key figure on any committee.⁴⁸⁴ Chairs are so important that, when a committee does not have one, it is not considered properly constituted. It can undertake no work or other activities, and cannot exercise any of its powers.

Committee Chairs have procedural, administrative and representative responsibilities.

Procedural Responsibilities

Chairs preside over committee meetings and oversee committee work. They recognize the Members, witnesses and other people who wish to speak at these meetings; as in the House, all remarks are addressed to the Chair. They ensure that any rules established by the committee, including those on the apportioning of speaking time, are respected. They are responsible for maintaining order and decorum in committee proceedings, and rule on any procedural matter that arises, subject to an appeal to the committee.⁴⁸⁵

As the presiding officer of the committee, the Chair does not move motions. Furthermore, the Chair does not vote, except in two situations: when a committee is considering a private bill, the Chair may vote together with other members of the committee; and when there is an equality of voices (a tie), the Chair has the casting vote.⁴⁸⁶

Administrative Responsibilities

Committee Chairs have considerable administrative responsibilities, starting with those involving the committee’s program of activities. In compliance with instructions from the committee or an order from the House, the Chair:

calls committee meetings;⁴⁸⁷
decides on the agenda for the meeting;
cancels scheduled meetings or modifies agendas if an unexpected development makes this necessary and there is no committee meeting before the meeting that needed to be cancelled or have its agenda modified;⁴⁸⁸
usually presides over the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure, if there is one; and
works closely with committee staff to ensure that the committee’s work goals are achieved.

Chairs are also key figures in a committee’s financial administration. They:

submit budget requests approved by their committee to the Liaison Committee or the Board of Internal Economy;⁴⁸⁹
manage the budgets allocated to their committee, in conjunction with the committee clerk;
are members of the Liaison Committee;⁴⁹⁰
sign service contracts with personnel hired from outside the Parliamentary Precinct, as approved by their committee; and
sign the committee’s financial documents, including those incurring expenses and paying bills.⁴⁹¹ Chairs may partially delegate this authority to the committee clerk.

Representative Responsibilities

Committee Chairs also have certain representative responsibilities for their committee. Committee reports are signed by the Chair, to certify that their content reflects the committee’s decisions.⁴⁹² Chairs normally present the reports to the House as well.⁴⁹³

Important correspondence from the committee is signed by its Chair, whose name also appears in the committee’s press releases. Chairs participate in official press conferences held by their committee. They are the committee’s main spokesperson with other parliamentarians,⁴⁹⁴ the media and civil society. During Oral Questions in the House, a committee Chair may answer questions, provided these deal with the committee’s agenda or schedule and not with the substance of its work.⁴⁹⁵

Within the Parliamentary Precinct, committee Chairs may have to represent their committee in making budget submissions, obtaining special leave from the House or welcoming delegations from other Parliaments. Outside the Parliamentary Precinct, when a committee travels, its Chair acts as head of the delegation.

Role of Vice-Chairs

Vice-Chairs usually preside over meetings, or parts of meetings, when the Chair is absent.⁴⁹⁶ When they preside, they have the same authority as the Chairs for maintaining order and decorum.⁴⁹⁷ The practice is that a committee’s first Vice-Chair is called upon first to replace its Chair, and that the second Vice-Chair, if one exists, is called upon to replace the Chair if the first Vice-Chair is not present in the absence of the Chair.⁴⁹⁸

Vice-Chairs are usually members of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure, if their committee has one. Occasionally they may play a role outside committee meetings, at the request of the Chair. They may present a committee report in the House, for example, or appear before the Liaison Committee to defend a budget submission. In the Chair’s absence they may also answer oral questions in the House about the committee’s schedule or proceedings.⁴⁹⁹ However, a Vice-Chair has no administrative or representative responsibility, such as convening or cancelling meetings, unless he or she is acting on the instruction of the Chair.

Vice-Chairs cannot fulfill any responsibilities or perform any other function while the office of Chair is vacant.

Role of Acting Chairs

In the absence of the Chair and Vice-Chairs of a committee, an Acting Chair must be chosen to preside over a committee meeting.⁵⁰⁰ With the committee’s consent, the Chair of a standing or special committee may designate a member to act as Chair at a given meeting if it is known in advance that the Chair and the Vice-Chairs will not be attending.⁵⁰¹ Where no Acting Chair has been designated, the committee clerk must preside over the election of an Acting Chair before the committee can begin its work.⁵⁰²

When he or she is unable to act in that capacity at or during a meeting, the Chair of a legislative committee is empowered by the Standing Orders to designate a member of the committee as an Acting Chair.⁵⁰³ The Chair’s designation of a replacement is notified to the clerk of the committee in writing, who in turn informs the committee at the meeting concerned.

An Acting Chair has the same authority as the Chair for maintaining order and decorum. No Acting Chair may be designated when the office of Chair is vacant.

Methods of Designation

As shown in figure 20.3, “Methods of Designating Chairs and Vice-Chairs by Type of Committee”, the methods of designating Chairs and Vice-Chairs vary depending on the type of committee. In most cases, they are elected by the members of the committee, but others are, or may be, chosen by third parties (the House, the Speaker, the main committee in the case of a subcommittee). Some committees have Vice-Chair positions, some do not, depending on the Standing Orders or an order from the House. In some cases, the decision whether or not to have Vice-Chairs is up to the committee.

Figure 20.3 Methods of Designating Chairs and Vice-Chairs by Type of Committee

Committee Type	Method of Designation
Standing Committee	Elected by the committee members
Standing Joint Committee	Elected by the committee members
Legislative Committee	The Chair is selected by the Speaker from among the members of the Panel of Chairs. The Panel is established at the beginning of each session and is composed of as many as 12 members proportionately representing all recognized parties, along with the: ◈Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole; ◈Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole; and ◈Assistant Deputy Speaker and Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole No Vice-Chairs
Special Committee	Elected by the committee members May be named by the House in a special order
Special Joint Committee	Elected by the committee members May be named by the House and the Senate in a special order
Subcommittee	May be named by the members of the main committee in an order of reference. If the main committee has not provided any direction on this issue, the Chair is elected from among the members of the subcommittee Normally, no Vice-Chairs

Any Member of the House may serve as the Chair or the Vice-Chair of a committee, provided that, for all committees except legislative committees, the Member is a member of that committee and belongs to the appropriate party as specified in the Standing Orders.⁵⁰⁴ Ministers,⁵⁰⁵ party leaders and independent Members⁵⁰⁶ do not normally sit on committees and therefore do not usually act as Chairs or Vice-Chairs. The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker have chaired a variety of committees studying matters related to the House.⁵⁰⁷ As ex officio members of the Panel of Chairs, Chair Occupants have been called on to chair legislative committees.⁵⁰⁸

Standing and Standing Joint Committees

The Standing Orders provide for the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of standing and standing joint committees to be elected by all members of the committee.⁵⁰⁹

At the beginning of each session of Parliament, within 10 sitting days following concurrence by the House in the report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs establishing the membership of the standing committees and the list of Members representing the House on standing joint committees, the Clerk of the House convenes meetings of each committee to elect a Chair.⁵¹⁰ The only item on the announced agenda for these organization meetings is the election of the Chair. Committee members must be given 48-hours’ notice of the meeting.⁵¹¹

The Standing Orders require that each standing and standing joint committee elect a Chair and two Vice-Chairs at the beginning of each session.⁵¹² While committees usually take advantage of the organization meeting to elect their Vice-Chairs,⁵¹³ they may decide to postpone those elections to a later meeting.

The Standing Orders also require standing and standing joint committees to elect their Chairs and Vice-Chairs “if necessary” during a session. This is required when a vacancy arises in the offices of Chair or Vice-Chairs. In such cases, the committee holds only the election necessary to fill the vacancy.⁵¹⁴

To be eligible for the office of Chair or Vice-Chair, a Member must meet two conditions. First, the Member must be a regular member of the committee;⁵¹⁵ second, the Member must be from the political party prescribed in the Standing Orders for the office in question. For the vast majority of standing committees, the Chair must be a Member of the government party, the first Vice-Chair a Member of the Official Opposition, and the second Vice-Chair a Member of an opposition party other than the Official Opposition party.⁵¹⁶ However, there are special provisions for four standing committees and one standing joint committee. In the case of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts,⁵¹⁷ the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, and the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations,⁵¹⁸ the Standing Orders require that the Chair (or Joint Chair) be a Member of the Official Opposition, the first Vice-Chair a Member of the government party, and the second Vice-Chair a Member of an opposition party other than the Official Opposition party.

The committee clerk presides over the election in all cases but may not take part in debate with committee members or hear points of order or questions of privilege.⁵¹⁹ In fact, the clerk may not entertain any motions except those concerning the election of a Member to an office.

Before proceeding with the election, the clerk must determine that there is a quorum. If all offices are to be filled at the meeting, the clerk begins with the election of a Chair. Following the election of the Chair, the committee may agree to proceed to the election of the first and second Vice-Chairs, in that order. In standing joint committees, two Joint Chairs are elected, one from each House. The Senate Joint Chair is elected first, followed by the Commons Joint Chair. The election of each Joint Chair is presided over by the Joint Clerk from the respective House. All committee members, whether they are Senators or Members of the House of Commons, are entitled to vote for the Joint Chairs from each House.⁵²⁰

For each office to be filled, the clerk invites members to make motions proposing the election of a particular member to the office in question.⁵²¹ When members have no further nominations to propose, the clerk calls for a vote. If there is only one candidate for the office, the motion is agreed to or negatived (if there is a tie or a majority of “nays”) by the committee members.⁵²² If there is more than one candidate, the Standing Orders require that the election be conducted by secret ballot as follows:⁵²³

The committee clerk first announces the candidates to the committee members and then provides a ballot paper to each member who is eligible to vote.
The members print the first and last name of the candidate whom they support on the ballot paper, which they then deposit in the box provided.
The committee clerk counts the ballots and announces the name of the candidate who received the majority of the votes. If no candidate received a majority of the votes, a second ballot is taken, the name of the candidate who received the fewest votes having been dropped from the ballot. Balloting continues in this manner until a candidate receives a majority of the votes.

The Standing Orders require the clerk to destroy the ballots and to refrain from divulging the number of votes cast for any candidate.

In the case of an election for the office of Chair, if no motion is adopted, the committee cannot proceed with other business. When an impasse is evident, the members disperse, and the Clerk of the House must convene another meeting at a later time, when the election of a Chair will be the first order of business.⁵²⁴

Legislative Committees

The Chair of a legislative committee is not elected by the members but is selected by the Speaker from the Panel of Chairs once the committee’s membership has been established.⁵²⁵ The Panel of Chairs is established at the beginning of each session and is composed of as many as 12 Members named by the Speaker in proportion to the party standings in the House, along with the Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole, the Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, and the Assistant Deputy Speaker and Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole.⁵²⁶

Like the Speaker, the Chair of a legislative committee acts as a neutral arbitrator of proceedings.⁵²⁷ He or she may be a member of any of the parties in the House,⁵²⁸ is not counted for the purposes of determining quorum,⁵²⁹ and does not take part in the committee’s debates.⁵³⁰

Special and Special Joint Committees

The Standing Orders provide for special committees to elect a Chair and two Vice-Chairs. The Chair must be a Member of the government party, the first Vice-Chair a Member of the Official Opposition, and the second Vice-Chair a Member of an opposition party other than the Official Opposition party.⁵³¹ Like standing joint committees, special joint committees elect a Joint Chair from the House of Commons and a Joint Chair from the Senate, as well as two Vice-Chairs.⁵³²

The election of a Chair is the first order of business on the proposed agenda of the committee’s first meeting.⁵³³ The meeting is convened for that purpose by the Clerk of House after the committee’s membership has been established and consultations have been held with recognized parties concerning the timing of the meeting.⁵³⁴ In the case of special joint committees, the Senate is also consulted. Special committees usually elect Vice-Chairs at this meeting as well.⁵³⁵ Elections during a session must be conducted only if a vacancy arises.

Subcommittees

Like other types of committees, a subcommittee must have a Chair in order to conduct business.

When establishing a subcommittee, the main committee is responsible for determining whether or not to name a Vice-Chair.⁵³⁶ If it sees fit, the committee may also specify the required political affiliation of the Chair or Vice-Chairs.

Main committees have two choices regarding the selection of their subcommittees’ officers: designate them directly in an order of reference,⁵³⁷ or leave it up to the subcommittee members to elect them according to the procedure followed by standing and special committees.⁵³⁸

Vacancies

Occasionally, vacancies arise in the office of Chair or Vice-Chair during a session. In fact, they arise automatically when an officer:

is elected to another officer position within the same committee;⁵³⁹
resigns from his or her position;⁵⁴⁰
resigns as a Member of Parliament;⁵⁴¹
passes away;
ceases to be a member of the committee;⁵⁴²
ceases to be a member of the recognized party required by the House to hold the office;⁵⁴³ or
is removed from office by the committee.⁵⁴⁴

In the event of a vacancy in the office of Chair, the committee cannot conduct any other business until a new Chair is chosen.⁵⁴⁵ This is similar to procedure in the House, where a vacancy in the office of Speaker must be filled before any other matter can be considered.⁵⁴⁶

In the case of committee Chairs who are elected, a vacancy that arises while the committee is sitting triggers an immediate election.⁵⁴⁷ If the vacancy occurs when the committee is not sitting, but a meeting has already been convened by the former Chair, the first order of business at that meeting will be the election of a new Chair. If no meeting is scheduled, the next one will be convened by the Clerk of the House after the usual consultations with the recognized parties. If the Chair of a committee was designated by a third party (the House, the Speaker, the main committee in the case of a subcommittee), a new designation is required when there is a vacancy.⁵⁴⁸

Vacancies in the offices of Vice-Chair do not prevent committees from conducting business. If the Vice-Chairs are elected, the committee holds a new election.⁵⁴⁹ If the Vice-Chairs are designated, there must be a new designation as soon as possible.

Committee Staff

In the execution of its functions, each committee is normally assisted by a committee clerk and analysts. Occasional assistance is also provided by legislative clerks, lawyers from the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel and staff hired from outside the Parliamentary Precinct.

Committee Clerk

The clerk of a committee is a professional from Procedural Services of the House of Commons who serves as the committee’s procedural and administrative officer.⁵⁵⁰ The clerk is the committee’s principal adviser regarding parliamentary procedure, especially committee procedure. The clerk also prepares the Minutes of Proceedings and swears in witnesses at the committee’s request.

Following the instructions of the Chair and the committee, the clerk organizes the committee’s work and meetings. In particular, the clerk publishes and distributes notices of meetings to interested parties, contacts witnesses from whom the committee wishes to hear, distributes all meeting documentation to the committee members, and oversees the process of producing reports and presenting them to the House. If the committee travels outside the Parliamentary Precinct, the clerk prepares a detailed itinerary and oversees the travel arrangements (transportation, accommodation, per diems and so on).

The clerk also has a number of financial roles and responsibilities. Ordinarily, the clerk advises the committee members and the Chair on financial matters. The clerk prepares the committee’s budget requests and assists the Chair in providing justification to the Liaison Committee if necessary. The clerk regularly manages and monitors the committee’s finances. If authorized to do so by the Chair, the clerk approves the payment of invoices received by the committee for goods and services. In addition, the clerk prepares the contracts required to hire staff from outside the Parliamentary Precinct.

The clerk is also the main point of contact for procedural and administrative inquiries from the general public, public officials and the media concerning the committee. The clerk receives most of the correspondence intended for the committee. The clerk also acts as the committee’s liaison with other branches and services of the House, the Senate and the Library of Parliament.

As a non-partisan and independent officer, the clerk also provides advice to all members of the committee; the clerk carries out his or her duties and responsibilities under the direction of the committee and the Chair. In performing those functions, the clerk receives assistance and support from the many services of the House, particularly from administrative and logistical staff of the Committees and Legislative Services Directorate.

Analysts

The Library of Parliament provides analysts to all committees on request.⁵⁵¹ The analysts are highly skilled researchers and usually are specialists in the subject area of the committee to which they are assigned. They are the resource persons for any substantive questions that the Chair and committee members may have. They provide briefing material and other background material to committee members. They may identify potential witnesses for the committee and suggest possible lines of questioning during committee hearings. They play an important role in the drafting of substantive reports. Like the committee clerks, they perform their duties in a non-partisan, neutral manner and they are at the disposal of all committee members.

Legislative Clerks

Legislative clerks are not part of the regular staff assigned to committees. They assist committees during the clause-by-clause analysis of bills. Legislative clerks are professionals from Procedural Services of the House of Commons who advise committee Chairs and members on the procedural admissibility of amendments that Members propose to bills. Legislative clerks have an in-depth knowledge of the bills being considered and their constituent parts, and of the rules of procedure governing the nature and form of amendments that can be proposed by Members. During a session, legislative clerks are assigned responsibility for a number of bills and work with more than one committee.

Other Staff

When questions of a legal nature arise, committees sometimes avail themselves of the services of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel and his or her staff. The Standing Orders also empower committees to hire expert, professional, technical, administrative, clerical and secretarial staff on contract from outside the Parliamentary Precinct, as required.⁵⁵² Before considering that option, committees should verify the availability of internal resources from the administration of the House of Commons or the Library of Parliament.⁵⁵³

If they wish to proceed with hiring from outside, they must first determine the nature and scope of the work to be performed. Next, they must adopt a motion specifying the terms of reference and duration of the contract, and the maximum rate or amount of remuneration of the additional staff.⁵⁵⁴ They are then required to obtain the necessary approval and funding for the contracts from the appropriate authorities (Liaison Committee, Board of Internal Economy).⁵⁵⁵

Such contracts and budgets are subject at all times to the guidelines set out by the Board of Internal Economy. Special rules apply to contracts in the event of prorogation or dissolution of Parliament.⁵⁵⁶

398.: This includes motions for which notice has been given by a member’s officially designated substitute, if the committee in question requires such notice. For further information, see “Substitutions” in this section.
399.: A quorum is the minimum number of members required at a meeting for a committee to exercise its powers. For further information, see “Conduct of Meetings” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
400.: Standing Order 104(6); Journals, June 20, 2017, pp. 2010–6.
401.: Standing Order 104(5); Journals, June 20, 2017, pp. 2010–6.
402.: Standing Order 114(2)(c). Only independent Members are required to be associate members in order to act as substitutes. For further information, see “Substitutions” in this section.
403.: See Speaker Parent’s ruling (Debates, November 7, 1996, pp. 6225–6).
404.: Standing Order 119. It is up to each committee to decide whether or not to allow Members who do not sit on the committee to attend in camera meetings; however, the practice is that such Members usually withdraw when the committee moves in camera. In 2013, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs allowed independent Members of Parliament to attend in camera meetings during its consideration of a draft report. See, for example, Minutes of Proceedings, November 26, 2013, Meeting No. 9.
405.: Standing Order 119. The participation of non-members can sometimes be helpful. For example, when a committee considers a private Member’s bill, it may wish to have input from the sponsoring Member without having to call that Member as an official witness. In the Forty-First Parliament, committees also adopted orders inviting independent Members to submit amendments for clause-by-clause consideration of bills and to participate in the related proceedings. See, for example, Standing Committee on Finance, Minutes of Proceedings, October 29, 2013, Meeting No. 2. The House may grant special status to independent Members in order to allow them to participate during committee proceedings (Journals, October 21, 2013, pp. 39–44, in particular p. 39). Based on an instruction from the House, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs developed a process to allow independent Members to participate in its review of the Board of Internal Economy. For a description of the process, see Third Report of the Committee, presented to the House on December 2, 2013 (Journals, p. 258).
406.: For further information on routine motions, see “Organization and Conduct of Business” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
407.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Health, Evidence, June 3, 2014, Meeting No. 31, pp. 5–7.
408.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, Minutes of Proceedings, April 24, 2007, Meeting No. 47, Evidence, p. 8. See also Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, April 8, 2014, Meeting No. 29, Evidence, p. 17.
409.: Committees have allowed Senators to participate in special meetings without any objections being raised. See, for example, Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings, June 14, 2005, Meeting No. 41. See, also, Subcommittee on Neurological Disease of the Standing Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings, December 9, 2010, Meeting No. 16, Evidence, pp. 15–6.
410.: This does not prevent the House from referring certain matters to existing committees whose members have not yet been appointed. See, for example, Journals, November 24, 2008, pp. 30–2; October 16, 2013, pp. 5–17. See also the Speaker’s rulings regarding the referral of a bill, and the subject matter of a bill, to committees that did not yet have any members (Journals, November 5, 1957, p. 82; February 5, 1959, pp. 82–3).
411.: Debates, June 20, 1994, pp. 5582–4.
412.: Committees are empowered to create subcommittees for which the membership is drawn from the list of associate members (Standing Order 108(1)(c)).
413.: For example, on December 3, 2013, the House concurred in the Fourth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, modifying the Standing Orders for the number of committee members from 12 to 10. The Report also specified the number of members from each of the recognized parties to serve as members on standing committees for the remainder of the Forty-First Parliament (Journals, p. 301).
414.: During the Thirty-Third Parliament independent Member Anthony Roman (York North) was a member of two committees (Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, March 18, 1986, Issue No. 32, p. 10; Standing Joint Committee on Regulations and Other Statutory Instruments, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, February 5, 1987, Issue No. 4, p. 4). During the Thirty-Ninth Parliament, André Arthur (Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier) was a member of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (Journals, April 26, 2006, pp. 64, 77, 93; October 30, 2007, pp. 83, 96; October 31, 2007, p. 122).
415.: The Speaker was formerly ex officio Joint Chair of the Standing Joint Committees on the Library of Parliament and the Parliamentary Restaurant. The Speaker may also, on occasion, chair a special committee. Speaker Jerome served as Chair of the Special Committee on the Rights and Immunities of Members as well as of the Special Committee on TV and Radio Broadcasting of Proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees (Journals, December 13, 1976, p. 230; January 25, 1977, pp. 286–7).
416.: Chair Occupants other than the Speaker may be called upon to act as Chairs of legislative committees pursuant to Standing Order 112. For example, when Andrew Scheer (Regina—Qu’Appelle) was Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole, he chaired the Legislative Committee on Bill C-31 (Journals, December 3, 2009, p. 1139). Chair Occupants have also chaired special committees. Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole Bob Kilger served as Chair of the Special Committee on the Modernization and Improvement of the Procedures of the House of Commons (Journals, November 28, 2002, p. 236). During the First Session of the Thirty-Eighth Parliament, Jean Augustine, who was then Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, was appointed associate member of three standing committees and one standing joint committee (Journals, October 20, 2004, pp. 117–21, 124, in particular pp. 118, 120–1).
417.: On March 16, 1926, Arthur Meighen, leader of the Conservative Party, was named to the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament (Journals, p. 152).
418.: In the early years of Confederation, Prime Ministers served on a variety of standing committees. See, for example, Journals, November 15, 1867, pp. 16, 21–2. The last Prime Minister named to a standing committee was William Lyon Mackenzie King, who served on the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament until 1926 (Journals, March 16, 1926, p. 152).
419.: Standing Order 104(6)(a). This Standing Order, added in 2017 (Journals, June 20, 2017, pp. 2010–6), provides for a practice that has been in place for some time, aside from a few exceptions. For example, Allan MacEachen was named to replace Mitchell Sharp on the Striking Committee during the Second Session of the Thirtieth Parliament (Journals, November 1, 1976, pp. 91–2). In 1990, Marcel Danis, who, as Deputy Speaker of the House, had been appointed Chair of the Special Committee on the Review of the Parliament of Canada Act, continued as Chair of the Committee even after his appointment to Cabinet (Journals, March 6, 1990, p. 1290). During the First Session of the Thirty-Ninth Parliament, while serving as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Jason Kenney was elected Chair of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. He remained Chair of the Subcommittee even after being named Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity). See, for example, Minutes of Proceedings, May 29, 2007, Meeting No. 20. During the Second Session of the Thirty-Ninth Parliament, he was again a member of the Subcommittee even though he was also a member of Cabinet. See, for example, Minutes of Proceedings, June 17, 2008, Meeting No. 22.
420.: Further to a recommendation of the Special Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons (McGrath Committee), Parliamentary Secretaries were prohibited from belonging to standing committees whose mandate was within their area of responsibility (Third Report of the Committee, p. 18, presented to the House on June 18, 1985 (Journals, p. 839); Journals, February 6, 1986, pp. 1644–66, in particular p. 1657). The absence of Parliamentary Secretaries deprived the government of an official representative on committees and was considered by some to impede the committees’ work (Debates, April 9, 1991, pp. 19194–7). The prohibition on the membership of Parliamentary Secretaries was lifted in 1991 (Journals, April 11, 1991, pp. 2905–32, in particular p. 2923). During the Third Session of the Thirty-Seventh Parliament, Parliamentary Secretaries were sworn in as members of the Privy Council. A Member rose on a point of order to ask the Speaker to rule whether three Parliamentary Secretaries who belonged to a standing committee that had launched an investigation of a government program could continue to sit on that committee. In his ruling, the Speaker held that nothing prevented members of the Privy Council who were not members of Cabinet from sitting on committees. In the same ruling, the Speaker found that there was no reason to intervene, especially as the House itself had approved the appointment of those three Parliamentary Secretaries to the committee (Debates, February 16, 2004, pp. 615–7). At the beginning of the Forty-Second Parliament, the Government did not appoint Parliamentary Secretaries to committees. However, like any other Member of Parliament, Parliamentary Secretaries remained free to be present at various committee meetings. Halfway through the Parliament, the House amended the Standing Orders to allow Parliamentary Secretaries to sit on committees but not have the right to vote, move motions or be part of a quorum (Standing Order 104(5); Journals, June 20, 2017, pp. 2010–6).
421.: Standing Order 104(1). Once the membership has been appointed, and following the usual consultations with the party Whips, the Clerk of the House convenes a meeting of the Committee for the purpose of electing a Chair. See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, October 22, 2013, Meeting No. 1.
422.: Standing Orders 104(1) and 113(1).
423.: Standing Order 104(1). On at least one occasion, the House did not have committees struck during the first session of a Parliament: the striking committee was established at the beginning of the second session (Journals, April 6, 1989, p. 50). In the First Session of the Fortieth Parliament, the striking committee was the only standing committee established. Although its striking of membership report was presented to the House on December 2, 2008 (Journals, pp. 61–92), it was not concurred in before prorogation on December 4, 2008.
424.: See, for example, Journals, June 3, 2011, p. 14.
425.: The House used to establish a committee solely to act as a striking committee. This was last done in 1989 (Journals, April 6, 1989, p. 50). In 1991, the role of striking committee was added to the mandate of the Standing Committee on House Management (Journals, April 11, 1991, pp. 2905–32, in particular p. 2922); it is now part of the mandate of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (Journals, January 25, 1994, pp. 58–61).
426.: In the past, the House often named the Whips of all recognized parties to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. At its organization meeting the Committee adopts a motion similar to the following: “That the three Whips be delegated the authority to act as the Striking Committee pursuant to Standing Orders 104, 113 and 114, and that they be authorized to present to the Chair, in a report signed by all three Whips, or their representatives, their unanimous recommendations for presentation to the House, on behalf of the Committee” (Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, October 22, 2013, Meeting No. 1). The number of Whips set out in the motion varies from Parliament to Parliament with the number of recognized parties in the House.
427.: Standing Order 104(2). In the Fortieth Parliament, standing committees chaired by the Official Opposition had one fewer member.
428.: Standing Order 104(3). Given the party representation in the two Houses at any given time, the proportional representation on a particular joint committee may be only approximate. See, for example, Journals, June 19, 1991, pp. 226–7.
429.: Prior to a modification to Standing Order 104(1) in 2015, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs was charged with preparing and presenting a new list of Members to compose the standing committees within the first 10 sitting days after the summer adjournment every year. This requirement was dropped from the Standing Orders following concurrence in the Twenty-Eighth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (Journals, February 4, 2015, p. 2092).
430.: Standing Order 104(1). See, for example, Journals, October 22, 2013, pp. 48–79. The list need not include the members of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs itself, who are appointed by order of the House at the start of a Parliament. The House in the past has appointed the members of certain standing committees directly, by special order, so that they can start work more quickly. See, for example, Journals, June 3, 2011, p. 12. These appointments occurred before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs had submitted its list.
431.: Until 2007, the reports containing the lists of members and/or associate members for standing joint committees included a provision for sending a message to the Senate informing it which Members had been chosen by the House to represent it on those committees. See, for example, Journals, October 30, 2007, p. 111.
432.: See, for example, Journals, October 22, 2013, p. 79. The House occasionally approves special orders providing for automatic concurrence in a report at a given time. See, for example, Journals, September 23, 2003, p. 1027. House orders may also have provisions that apply to specific committees. See, for example, Journals, December 9, 2013, p. 357.
433.: This is true even in cases where a committee member resigns as a Member of Parliament. For example, Rob Merrifield (Yellowhead) resigned as a Member of Parliament on September 17, 2014 (Journals, September 18, 2014, p. 1443), but he remained a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade until the House concurred in the Twenty-Fourth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (Journals, November 19, 2014, pp. 1784–93). During the Second Session of the Forty-First Parliament, as a result of concurrence in the Fourth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs reducing the number of members on standing committees, the memberships of standing committees were made null and void until a new report of the Committee was concurred in. Standing committees could therefore not meet until they were reconstituted (Fourth Report of the Committee, presented to the House and concurred in on December 3, 2013 (Journals, p. 301)).
434.: Standing Order 104(4). The list includes the associate members, if any, of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
435.: See, for example, Journals, October 22, 2013, pp. 48–79.
436.: Standing Order 113(1). It is not uncommon for legislative committees to have fewer than 15 members. See, for example, Journals, October 26, 2011, pp. 381–2.
437.: The House may appoint the members of a legislative committee directly, by special order. See, for example, Journals, October 26, 2007, p. 69.
438.: Standing Order 113(2). For further information on the choice of Chairs for legislative committees, see “Methods of Designation” in this section. On occasion, the House has appointed the Chair of a legislative committee directly. See, for example, Journals, October 26, 2007, p. 69.
439.: Standing Order 105. These committees often have fewer than 15 members. See, for example, Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan (13 members) (Journals, April 8, 2008, pp. 665–7); Special Committee on Co-operatives (12 members) (Journals, May 30, 2012, p. 1346).
440.: See, for example, Special Committee on the Modernization and Improvement of the Procedures of the House of Commons (Journals, November 28, 2002, p. 236).
441.: See, for example, Special Committee on Pension Reform (Journals, March 1, 1983, p. 5654; March 9, 1983, p. 5684).
442.: See, for example, Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs (Journals, May 17, 2001, pp. 427–8).
443.: See, for example, Journals, February 26, 2013, pp. 2786–8. An attempt was made to depart from an order to bring in a list of names, by presenting a report that provided for a mechanism by which the Whips would designate members from time to time, but it was ruled out of order (Journals, June 19, 1991, pp. 226–7; September 25, 1991, p. 393, Debates, pp. 2712–8; September 27, 1991, pp. 2823–5). In at least one instance in the past, the instruction has provided that the striking committee’s report be deemed concurred in when presented to the House (Journals, March 30, 1993, p. 2742).
444.: The order of reference may name the membership directly (Journals, December 13, 1983, p. 37) or it may be done by reference. For example, the membership of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs was designated to represent the House on the Special Joint Committee on a Code of Conduct (Journals, March 12, 1996, p. 83).
445.: See, for example, Journals, December 5, 1997, pp. 353–4.
446.: See, for example, Journals, March 30, 1993, p. 2742; April 2, 1993, pp. 2784–5.
447.: See, for example, Journals, December 13, 1983, pp. 37–8.
448.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, April 25, 2006, Meeting No. 2.
449.: The motion to appoint the members usually reads: “following the usual consultations with the Whips”. See, for example, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Minutes of Proceedings, October 29, 2013, Meeting No. 1. This procedure permits subsequent changes to the membership of a subcommittee at the Whip’s discretion without the adoption of an order by the committee.
450.: In 2014, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs named a Chair to the Subcommittee on a Code of Conduct for Members while allowing the Whips to name the remaining members following the “usual consultations” (Minutes of Proceedings, December 4, 2014, Meeting No. 61).
451.: See, for example, Journals, June 27, 1985, p. 907.
452.: Standing Order 108(1)(c). A committee was given leave to name Members to a subcommittee who were neither members nor associate members of the committee (Journals, March 9, 1983, p. 5684).
453.: Occasionally, subcommittees have as many members as their main committee. See, for example, the Subcommittee on Oil and Gas and Other Energy Prices of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, from the Second Session of the Thirty-Ninth Parliament.
454.: See, for example, Standing Committee on International Trade, Minutes of Proceedings, February 4, 2016, Meeting No. 1. Prior to the Forty-Second Parliament, it was normal practice for committees to appoint Parliamentary Secretaries to their steering committees.
455.: See, for example, Journals, November 18, 1997, pp. 224–6.
456.: For subcommittees, a member of a standing committee’s subcommittee who ceases to be a member or associate member of the standing committee automatically ceases to be a member of the subcommittee as well.
457.: For example, Shaughnessy Cohen (Windsor—St. Clair) died in office on December 9, 1998 (Journals, December 10, 1998, p. 1431). Officially, she remained a member of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights until replaced by Aileen Carroll (Barry—Simcoe—Bradford) on February 1, 1999 (Fifty-Second Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House and concurred in on February 1, 1999 (Journals, pp. 1444–5)). During the Second Session of the Forty-First Parliament, Ted Menzies (Macleod) resigned his seat in the House on November 9, 2013 (Journals, November 18, 2013, p. 167), but remained officially a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade until February 10, 2014 (Fifth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House and concurred in on January 30, 2014 (Journals, pp. 450–80, in particular p. 466, 479)).
458.: For example, on October 21, 2014, Jean-François Larose (Repentigny) resigned as a member of the party caucus that he represented on the Standing Committee on National Defence but continued to be a member and attend meetings of the Committee (see, for example, Minutes of Proceedings, November 6, 2014, Meeting No. 36) until the House concurred in the Twenty-Fourth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs on November 19, 2014 (Journals, pp. 1784–93, in particular p. 1785, 1793).
459.: Standing Order 114(2)(d).
460.: By practice, independent Members who want to be removed from the list of associate members inform the Whip of the party that agreed to place them on the list for a given committee.
461.: Standing Order 114(2)(d) and (4). See, for example, Journals, March 24, 2014, pp. 666–9. By practice, changes to the membership of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs are done by adoption of a special order of the House. See, for example, Journals, November 28, 2012, p. 2375; January 28, 2013, p. 2650. Changes to the list of associate members of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs are done by the same process as the other standing committees. See, for example, Thirty-Seventh Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House and concurred in on May 27, 2015 (Journals, pp. 2574–7).
462.: Standing Order 114(3).
463.: See, for example, Journals, November 18, 1997, p. 225; March 3, 2010, p. 10. These mechanisms may reflect the provisions of Standing Order 114(3) or (4) governing either legislative or standing committees.
464.: See, for example, Journals, October 1, 1985, p. 1052.
465.: In the case of a subcommittee of a legislative committee, changes must be made as they are for the main committee, that is, by filing with the clerk of the subcommittee a written notice signed by the appropriate Chief Whip.
466.: For further information, see “Subcommittees” under “Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Acting Chairs” in this section.
467.: Bourinot, Parliamentary Procedure and Practice, 4th ed., pp. 461–2. Formerly, Members were excused from service on a committee only if they could show some reason why they were unable to attend. They could be excused by order of the House for such reasons as ill health or advanced age. See, for example, Journals, March 24, 1873, p. 60.
468.: See Speaker Parent’s ruling (Debates, November 7, 1996, pp. 6225–6).
469.: See, for example, Standing Committee on the Status of Women, Minutes of Proceedings, March 10, 2011, Meeting No. 60, Evidence, p. 8, 10.
470.: See, for example, Standing Committee on the Status of Women, Minutes of Proceedings, March 5, 2013, Meeting No. 62.
471.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, April 25, 2013, Meeting No. 72.
472.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, Minutes of Proceedings, June 12, 2008, Meeting No. 40.
473.: In 1985, the McGrath Committee recommended that Members be responsible for finding their own replacements when they were unable to attend committee meetings (Third Report of the Special Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons, pp. 18–9, presented to the House on June 18, 1985 (Journals, p. 839)). Following the presentation of the Report, a provision was added to the Standing Orders that required members of standing committees to file a list of substitutes. Members failing to file such a list were removed from the committee (Journals, February 6, 1986, pp. 1644–66, in particular pp. 1659–60; February 13, 1986, p. 1710). See, for example, Journals, May 29, 1986, pp. 2234–5. In 1994, the filing of a list of substitutes was made voluntary, and the provision removing members who failed to do so was deleted (Journals, January 25, 1994, pp. 58–61, in particular p. 61).
474.: The form may be filed with the committee clerk before or during the meeting. Though it is rarely used, Standing Order 114(2)(a) allows standing committee and standing joint committee members to file with the clerk of their committee a list of not more than 14 Members from their party who can act as substitutes. The list is to be filed within five sitting days of the committee’s organization meeting and may be modified as required. Notification of replacement by a substitute on the list must be sent by the Member to his or her party’s Chief Whip the day before the meeting when the substitution is to occur. After signing the notice, the Whip forwards it to the clerk of the committee.
475.: Standing Orders 104(6)(a) and 114(2)(c) and (f). Ministers occasionally served as substitutes prior to the 2017 amendments to the Standing Orders, which prohibit them from taking on this role (Journals, June 20, 2017, pp. 2010–6). See, for example, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (Minutes of Proceedings, June 10, 2010, Meeting No. 20), where John Baird (Ottawa West—Nepean), at that time Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, substituted for a regular member. In 2013, John Duncan, Minister of State and Chief Government Whip at the time, substituted for a regular member during a review of the Board of Internal Economy by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (Minutes of Proceedings, November 26, 2013, Meeting No. 9). Members of a recognized party need not be on the list of associate members in order to be selected by their Whip to act as substitutes.
476.: In 1994, Audrey McLaughlin (Yukon), who was then sitting as an independent Member and was not on the associate members list, substituted for a regular member of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and voted despite not being eligible to do so. When called upon to rule on the matter, Speaker Parent declared that the vote should be disallowed (Debates, June 20, 1994, pp. 5582–4).
477.: Standing Order 114(2)(c).
478.: A committee meeting may extend beyond the date indicated in the notice. The substitution continues to be valid as long as the meeting began on the date indicated. If in the end the committee does not meet on the date indicated in the notice, the substitution expires at the end of that day.
479.: Standing Order 114(3); Journals, June 20, 2017, pp. 2010–6. Since the Chairs of legislative committees are appointed directly by the Speaker, they cannot have themselves substituted in this way.
480.: See, for example, Journals, October 21, 2013, pp. 39–44, in particular p. 40.
481.: See, for example, Journals, November 18, 1997, pp. 224–5.
482.: Standing Order 114(2)(e) and (f).
483.: Subcommittee on Indian Self-Government, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, October 6, 1982, Issue No. 1, pp. 8–9, 11; November 18, 1982, Issue No. 6, p. 3; Subcommittee on Indian Women and the Indian Act, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, September 8, 1982, Issue No. 1, p. 8; Special Committee on Indian Self-Government, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, December 22, 1982, Issue No. 1, p. 5. These Committees invited representatives of various national organizations representing Aboriginal peoples to participate in its proceedings, giving them the title of “ex officio members” or “liaison members”. In a report, the members of the Special Committee on Indian Self-Government explained that they had asked these individuals to participate because there were no Aboriginal Members of Parliament and they wanted to make sure that they were fully aware of the concerns and perspectives of Aboriginal people (Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, October 12, 1983, October 20, 1983, Issue No. 40, pp. 4, 185). In 1990, the Standing Committee on the Environment proposed to involve representatives of non-governmental organizations in the drafting of a report on the environment in Canada. The Committee did not, however, act on this idea (Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, December 13, 1990, Issue No. 63, p. 3). In 2004, the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development and Natural Resources adopted a motion providing for participation by at least one representative of the group(s) affected by any First Nations legislation that might be sent to the Committee. The Committee did not have an opportunity to follow through on this decision before Parliament was dissolved (Minutes of Proceedings, March 23, 2004, Meeting No. 5).
484.: Joint committees usually have two Joint Chairs: a Member representing the House of Commons and a Senator representing the Upper House.
485.: For further information on appeals from committee Chair decisions, see “Committees and Questions of Procedure and Privilege” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
486.: For further information on casting votes by committee Chairs, see “Rules of Debate and Decision-making Process” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
487.: For further information, see “Convening a Meeting” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”. While most meetings are convened with advance notice, it is not required, except in cases where the Standing Orders specify otherwise. See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Evidence, March 4, 2014, Meeting No. 19, pp. 1–2.
488.: For further information, see “Cancelling a Meeting” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
489.: These bodies allocate funding among the parliamentary committees. For further information, see “Funding of Activities” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
490.: Standing Order 107(1)(a).
491.: Committee Chairs ensure that the financial policies pertaining to House of Commons committees are applied in accordance with House of Commons, Financial Management and Policy Guide for Committees. They also approve the necessary expenditure initiation following a committee decision.
492.: See Speaker Milliken’s ruling (Debates, May 8, 2003, pp. 5990–1).
493.: For further information, see “Presentation to the House” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
494.: See, for example, Journals, June 12, 2008, p. 978.
495.: See, for example, Debates, November 6, 2014, p. 9292. For further information, see Chapter 11, “Questions”. See also Speaker Milliken’s ruling in this regard (Debates, April 3, 2008, pp. 4405–6).
496.: A Vice-Chair has presided over a portion of a meeting while the Chair appeared as a witness. See, for example, Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Minutes of Proceedings, October 26, 2010, Meeting No. 29; Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Minutes of Proceedings, March 12, 2015, Meeting No. 60.
497.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Evidence, June 13, 2013, Meeting No. 84, p. 3.
498.: For practical reasons, it can happen that the second Vice-Chair replaces the Chair even if the first Vice-Chair is present. See, for example, Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Minutes of Proceedings, June 17, 2014, Meeting No. 34. The second Vice-Chair replaced the first Vice-Chair in order to permit the first Vice-Chair to move a motion.
499.: See, for example, Debates, March 7, 2008, p. 3803. Speaker Milliken observed that this was a well-established practice (Debates, April 3, 2008, pp. 4405–6).
500.: As a general rule, the role of an Acting Chair is limited to filling a temporary need, that of presiding over one meeting. In 2005, however, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics designated one of its members as Acting Chair for a period of several months. This was done in response to the prolonged absence of the Committee’s Chair, who had given his consent to the designation. Renewed several times subsequently, the designation was to end as soon as the Chair was able to resume his functions (Minutes of Proceedings, March 22, 2005, Meeting No. 15; May 31, 2005, Meeting No. 26; June 21, 2005, Meeting No. 32; October 18, 2005, Meeting No. 36). The designated Acting Chair assumed the regular Chair’s administrative, procedural and representative roles. See also Standing Committee on Health, Minutes of Proceedings, February 3, 2011, Meeting No. 47.
501.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Evidence, October 16, 2001, Meeting No. 26. In the case of joint committees, the designation of an Acting Chair is done in conjunction with the Senate Joint Chair.
502.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, Minutes of Proceedings, September 27, 2001, Meeting No. 21; Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Minutes of Proceedings, November 17, 2014, Meeting No. 33. In theory, such an election could be required at an organization meeting when the Chair and Vice-Chairs have been elected in absentia.
503.: Standing Order 113(4). See, for example, Legislative Committee on Bill C-32, Minutes of Proceedings, March 3, 2011, Meeting No. 16.
504.: Standing Order 106(2).
505.: Since June 2017, Standing Order 104(6)(a) prohibits a Minister from being appointed to a committee (Journals, June 20, 2017, pp. 2010–6). The last Minister to be elected Chair of a committee was Mitchell Sharp (Standing Committee on Procedure and Organization, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, October 17, 1974, Issue No. 1, p. 5). During the First Session of the Thirty-Ninth Parliament, Jason Kenney continued to chair the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development even after becoming Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity) during the course of the session. See, for example, Minutes of Proceedings, May 29, 2007, Meeting No. 20.
506.: Anthony Roman (York North), an independent Member, served as Chair of a legislative committee in 1987 (Journals, November 4, 1987, pp. 1835–6).
507.: The Speaker has served as the Chair of the Special Committee on the Rights and Immunities of Members (Journals, March 9, 1978, p. 467) and of the Special Committee on TV and Radio Broadcasting of Proceedings of the House and its Committees (Journals, October 18, 1977, p. 11). The Deputy Speaker, Marcel Danis, has chaired the Special Committee on the Review of the Parliament of Canada Act (Journals, December 14, 1989, p. 1011). Following his appointment as Minister of State (Youth and Fitness and Amateur Sport) and his resignation as Deputy Speaker, Mr. Danis continued as Chair of this Committee (Journals, March 6, 1990, p. 1290). The Deputy Speaker, Bob Kilger, also chaired the Special Committee on the Modernization and Improvement of the Procedures of the House of Commons in the early 2000s (Journals, March 21, 2001, pp. 208–9; November 28, 2002, p. 236).
508.: See, for example, Journals, February 24, 2005, p. 481; December 3, 2009, p. 1139; November 5, 2010, p. 882. For further information on the Panel of Chairs, see “Legislative Committees” in this section.
509.: Standing Order 106(2).
510.: Standing Order 106(1). This Standing Order does not apply to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, as its membership is established by special order of the House.
511.: The House may, by special order, allow this requirement to be waived. See, for example, Debates, October 31, 2001, p. 6788; Journals, February 10, 2004, p. 37.
512.: Standing Order 106(2). The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs must elect its Chair and Vice-Chairs at the beginning of each new session even though its membership continues from session to session. See, for example, Minutes of Proceedings, October 22, 2013, Meeting No. 1.
513.: Any decision to deal with matters other than the election of a Chair at an organization meeting is made by the committee under the direction of the Chair (or Acting Chair, if the Chair was elected in absentia). However, the practice has been for standing and standing joint committees to elect their Vice-Chairs as well at that time.
514.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, Minutes of Proceedings, February 4, 2015, Meeting No. 31. For further information, see “Vacancies” in this section.
515.: The Member is not required to be at the meeting and may be elected in absentia. See, for example, Standing Committee on National Defence, Minutes of Proceedings, September 30, 2010, Meeting No. 25. A substitute cannot be elected to the office of Chair or Vice-Chair.
516.: Standing Order 106(2).
517.: In the case of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the practice of choosing a Chair from the Official Opposition was part of the government’s initial intention in establishing the Committee. A commitment to having a member of the Opposition chair the committee was made in the 1958 Throne Speech (Debates, May 12, 1958, pp. 5–6).
518.: The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, originally the Standing Joint Committee on Regulations and Other Statutory Instruments, was proposed as one which should operate in a primarily non-partisan manner, aided by a proposal that the committee not be chaired by government members (Debates, October 14, 1971, pp. 8679–81).
519.: However, points of order or questions of privilege may be heard by the Chair once elected. Since the committee is properly constituted following the election of a Chair, its members may begin making decisions, provided a quorum is present.
520.: See, for example, Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament, Minutes of Proceedings, April 22, 2010, Meeting No. 1.
521.: The Standing Orders do not require that the person nominated consent to being a candidate. If the Member is not interested in the office, the clerk will ask whether the committee unanimously consents to the withdrawal of the motion. If consent is not given, the motion remains before the committee. This reflects the practice followed in the House, where unanimous consent is required for withdrawal of a matter before it. A committee has allowed all the potential candidates for the position of Chair to withdraw their nominations, resulting in the members dispersing without having elected a Chair (Standing Committee on Official Languages, Minutes of Proceedings, May 15, 2007, Meeting No. 54). In theory, if the committee does not consent to the withdrawal of the nominating motion, the motion may result in the election of a member against his or her will. See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Evidence, March 6, 2008, Meeting No. 19, pp. 8–9. This course of action may lead to a stalemate, as the member in question may resign immediately after being elected.
522.: A recorded vote may be requested. See, for example, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Minutes of Proceedings, February 5, 2014, Meeting No. 12.
523.: Standing Order 106(3). See, for example, Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Minutes of Proceedings, November 15, 2007, Meeting No. 1.
524.: Standing Order 106(1). See, for example, Standing Committee on Official Languages, Evidence, May 15, 2007, Meeting No. 54, p. 12. If the meeting that resulted in the impasse was convened by the Clerk of the House following concurrence by the House in a report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, the next meeting, like the first, will require 48 hours’ notice to the members. See Speaker Milliken’s ruling (Debates, November 5, 2002, pp. 1311, 1327).
525.: Standing Order 113(1) and (2). See, for example, Journals, October 26, 2011, pp. 381–2 (establishment of a committee’s membership), October 27, 2011, p. 392 (appointment of a Chair).
526.: Standing Order 112. See, for example, Journals, March 6, 2014, pp. 650–1. During a session, the Speaker may modify the membership of the Panel of Chairs as required by replacing, adding or removing Members. See, for example, Journals, December 5, 2006, p. 869; September 20, 2012, p. 2050.
527.: Like the Chair of a standing committee, the Chair of a legislative committee is responsible for ensuring the orderly conduct of the business of the committee and careful attention to the clause-by-clause study of the bill.
528.: For example, in the First Session of the Forty-First Parliament, the Speaker selected a Member from the New Democratic Party, the Official Opposition, as Chair of the Legislative Committee on Bill C-11 (Journals, October 27, 2011, p. 392).
529.: Standing Order 118(1).
530.: The view of the legislative committee Chair as a non-partisan presiding officer stems from a recommendation in the Sixth Report of the Lefebvre Committee, repeated in the First Report of the McGrath Committee, concerning the establishment of a system of legislative committees: “Your Committee believes that Legislative Committees ought to be regarded as smaller versions of the Committee of the Whole House … [T]he Deputy Speaker, as the Chairman of Committees, is an impartial presiding officer. We believe that the establishment of a Panel of Chairmen would impart these qualities to the committee stage of all legislation. As neutral Chairmen, panel members would be able to develop expertise in House procedures and to meet from time to time to ensure consistent chairing practices” (Sixth Report of the Special Committee on Standing Orders and Procedure, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, April 28, 1983, Issue No. 19, p. 5; First Report of the Special Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, December 19, 1984, Issue No. 2, p. 8). Some legislative committee Chairs have cited this principle of impartiality as grounds for abstaining from votes in the House on the bill over which they were to preside in committee. See, for example, Debates, June 26, 1989, pp. 3644–5.
531.: Standing Order 106(2). Occasionally, the Chair may be named in the order of reference establishing the special committee. See, for example, Journals, November 28, 2002, p. 236. In addition, there have been occasions where the order of reference has stipulated, notwithstanding the Standing Orders, that a special committee will have more or fewer than two Vice-Chairs. See, for example, Journals, April 8, 2008, pp. 665–7; March 3, 2010, p. 9.
532.: Before Standing Order 106(2) was adopted in its current form, special joint committees seldom elected Vice-Chairs. For an example of a committee that did so, see Special Joint Committee on a Code of Conduct, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, March 20, 1997, Issue No. 1, p. 71.
533.: See, for example, Special Committee on Co-operatives, Minutes of Proceedings, June 19, 2012, Meeting No. 1.
534.: The organization meetings of special committees, unlike those of standing committees, do not have to be held within a certain period of time following the appointment of their membership.
535.: See, for example, Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women, March 26, 2013, Meeting No. 1.
536.: Since subcommittees often have a smaller membership than other types of committees, the main committees do not always consider it necessary to appoint Vice-Chairs, though subcommittees may have them. Subcommittees established by committees that do not have Vice-Chairs, such as legislative committees, generally do not have Vice-Chairs.
537.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, December 4, 2014, Meeting No. 61. It is common practice for standing committees to appoint their Chair to the same position on their Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure, thereby avoiding the need for an election.
538.: See, for example, Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Minutes of Proceedings, November 5, 2013, Meeting No. 1.
539.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Finance, Trade and Economic Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, November 17, 1983, Issue No. 156, p. 3.
540.: Resignations are generally submitted in the form of a written notice to the committee clerk, and are effective upon receipt of the notice in the case of immediate resignation, or on the date specified in the notice (see, for example, Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Evidence, May 3, 2012, Meeting No. 34, p. 15), or through oral notice to the committee members, effective at the time indicated by the member (see, for example, Standing Committee on National Defence, Evidence, October 7, 2014, Meeting No. 31, p. 1).
541.: During the Second Session of the Forty-First Parliament, the Chair of the Standing Committee on International Trade resigned as a Member of Parliament (Journals, September 18, 2014, p. 1443).
542.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, Minutes of Proceedings, February 5, 2015, Meeting No. 40; Thirtieth Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House and concurred in on January 29, 2015 (Journals, pp. 2061–9, in particular p. 2062).
543.: On November 5, 2014, when two Members were suspended from their party’s caucus, they ceased to be the Second Vice-Chairs of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics and the Standing Committee on International Trade, respectively.
544.: See, for example, Standing Committee on Official Languages, Minutes of Proceedings, May 15, 2007, Meeting No. 54. If a committee decides that a sufficiently serious situation requires the removal of the Chair or a Vice-Chair, it must adopt an explicit order relieving the person of his or her duties. See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, March 6, 2008, Meeting No. 19. Such orders often provide for an election to be held immediately to fill the vacancy. A motion stating simply that the committee has lost confidence in its Chair or a Vice-Chair could have unpredictable consequences.
545.: In the spring of 2008, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs did not meet for several months, partly due to the resignation of its Chair.
546.: Standing Order 2(2). For further information, see Chapter 7, “The Speaker and Other Presiding Officers of the House”.
547.: Standing Order 106(2). See, for example, Standing Committee on National Defence, Minutes of Proceedings, October 7, 2014, Meeting No. 31, Evidence, p. 1.
548.: See, for example, Journals, June 12, 1989, p. 358; June 15, 1989, p. 379.
549.: Standing Order 106(2). See, for example, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, November 7, 2002, Meeting No. 6. At that meeting, the Chair and the two Vice-Chairs resigned in succession. The committee clerk conducted elections for Vice-Chairs as soon as they had announced their resignations. Although committees usually hold elections at the earliest opportunity, they may wait before filling the vacancy. For example, the Standing Committee on Health held several meetings while there was a vacancy in the office of second Vice-Chair following the resignation of Judy Wasylycia-Leis (Winnipeg) as a Member of Parliament on April 30, 2010 (Journals, May 3, 2010, pp. 321–2). The Committee eventually filled the vacancy on June 3, 2010 (Minutes of Proceedings, Meeting No. 21).
550.: Committees may be supported by more than one clerk. Joint committees have a joint clerk for the House of Commons and a joint clerk for the Senate.
551.: The request usually takes the form of a routine motion adopted by the committee at the beginning of the session. For further information, see “Organization Meeting” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
552.: Standing Order 120.
553.: See, for example, the request that the Standing Committee on Public Accounts made to the Library of Parliament for additional resources (a forensic auditor and an investigator), Minutes of Proceedings, February 24, 2004, Meeting No. 5.
554.: See, for example, Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access, Minutes of Proceedings, February 23, 1998, Meeting No. 5. However, committees sometimes hire staff in the locations that they visit when they travel. Such contracts are travel expenses and are paid out of the travel budget allotted by the Liaison Committee or the Board of Internal Economy.
555.: For further information, see House of Commons, Financial Management and Policy Guide for Committees. For further information about the authorities responsible for allocating funds among the committees, see “Funding of Activities” under the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Proceedings”.
556.: For further information, see the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Lifespans”.

For questions about parliamentary procedure, contact the Table Research Branch

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