On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That Karen Vecchio be elected Chair of the committee.

At 3:33 p.m., Karen Vecchio took the Chair.

On motion of Emmanuella Lambropoulos, it was agreed, — That Sonia Sidhu be elected First Vice-Chair of the committee.

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That Andréanne Larouche be elected Second Vice-Chair of the committee.

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That the committee retain, as needed and at the discretion of the Chair, the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work.

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

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence published when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four members are present, including two members of the opposition parties and two members of the government party, but when travelling outside the Parliamentary Precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That witnesses be given five (5) minutes for their opening statement; that whenever possible, witnesses provide the committee with their opening statement 72 hours in advance; that at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six (6) minutes for the first questioner of each party as follows for the first round:Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party. For the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows: Conservative Party, five (5) minutes; Liberal Party, five (5) minutes; Bloc Québécois, two and a half (2.5) minutes; New Democratic Party, two and a half (2.5) minutes; Conservative Party, five (5) minutes; Liberal Party, five (5) minutes.

Leah Gazan moved, — That each party represented on the committee be entitled to select one witness per two-hour witness panel.

The question was put on the motion and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Leah Gazan, Andréanne Larouche — 2;

NAYS: Michelle Ferreri, Laila Goodridge, Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Marc Serré, Sonia Sidhu, Jenna Sudds, Anita Vandenbeld, Dominique Vien — 8.

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

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That the clerk of the committee, at the discretion of the Chair, be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and its subcommittees.

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

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff member at in camera meetings and that one additional person from each House officer’s office be allowed to be present.

Leah Gazan moved, — That the committee may meet in camera only for the following purposes:

(a) to consider a draft report;

(b) to attend briefings concerning national security;

(c) to consider lists of witnesses;

(d) for any other reason, with the unanimous consent of the committee;

That all votes taken in camera, with the exception of votes regarding the consideration of draft reports, be recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings, including how each member voted when recorded votes are requested;

That any motion to sit in camera is debatable and amendable.

RULING BY THE CHAIR

The Chair ruled the proposed motion inadmissible because the Standing Orders consider a motion to go in public or in camera to be a non-debatable motion (SO 67(1) and67(2)), as provided in of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Third Edition, page 1089.

Leah Gazan moved, — That the committee may meet in camera only for the following purposes:

(a) to consider a draft report;

(b) to attend briefings concerning national security;

(c) to consider lists of witnesses;

(d) for any other reason, with the unanimous consent of the committee;

That all votes taken in camera, with the exception of votes regarding the consideration of draft reports, be recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings, including how each member voted when recorded votes are requested.

The question was put on the motion and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Leah Gazan — 1;

NAYS: Michelle Ferreri, Laila Goodridge, Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Andréanne Larouche, Marc Serré, Sonia Sidhu, Jenna Sudds, Anita Vandenbeld, Dominique Vien — 9.

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That one copy of the transcript of each in camera meeting be kept in the committee clerk’s office for consultation by members of the committee or by their staff; and that the analysts assigned to the committee also have access to the in camera transcripts.

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That a 48-hour notice, interpreted as two nights, be required for any substantive motion to be moved in committee, unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration, provided that: (a) the notice be filed with the clerk of the committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; (b) the motion be distributed to Members and the offices of the whips of each recognized party in both official languages by the clerk on the same day the said notice was transmitted if it was received no later than the deadline hour; (c) notices received after the deadline hour or on non-business days be deemed to have been received during the next business day; and that when the committee is holding meetings outside the Parliamentary Precinct, no substantive motion may be moved.

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That in relation to orders of reference from the House respecting Bills, (a) the clerk of the committee shall, upon the committee receiving such an order of reference, write to each member who is not a member of a caucus represented on the committee to invite those members to file with the clerk of the committee, in both official languages, any amendments to the bill, which is the subject of the said Order, which they would suggest that the committee consider; (b) suggested amendments filed, pursuant to paragraph (a), at least 48 hours prior to the start of clause-by-clause consideration of the bill to which the amendments relate shall be deemed to be proposed during the said consideration, provided that the committee may, by motion, vary this deadline in respect of a given bill; and (c) during the clause-by-clause consideration of a bill, the Chair shall allow a member who filed suggested amendments, pursuant to paragraph (a), an opportunity to make brief representations in support of them.

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That the clerk inform each witness who is to appear before the committee that the House administration support team must conduct technical tests to check the connectivity and the equipment used to ensure the best possible sound quality; and that the Chair advise the committee, at the start of each meeting, of any witness who did not perform the required technical tests.

On motion of Marc G. Serré, it was agreed, — That all documents submitted for committee business that do not come from a federal department, members’ offices, or that have not been translated by the Translation Bureau be sent for prior linguistic review by the Translation Bureau before being distributed to members.

Andréanne Larouche gave notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on the various legislative experiences of states and countries that have created legislation to criminalize coercive and manipulative behaviour and on any other public policy tools and measures to address psychological and family violence; and that the committee dedicate at least five (5) meetings to this issue and report its findings and recommendations to the House.

Andréanne Larouche gave notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on how women’s participation in politics is affected by the political party funding model and that the committee dedicate at least four (4) meetings to this issue and report its findings and recommendations to the House.

Andréanne Larouche gave notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on honour crimes as a type of family violence to better understand the violence perpetrated by family members against girls and women while following traditional codes of honour; that the study include: a) the phenomenon of honour crimes; b) the federal legislation that prevents or limits this type of violence; and c) best practices for preventing this violence and protecting vulnerable people from it; and that the committee dedicate at least five (5) meetings to this issue and report its findings and recommendations to the House.

Emmanuella Lambropoulos gave notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study examining the factors contributing to mental health issues experienced by young women and girls; including but not limited to, eating disorders, addiction, depression, anxiety, and suicide; that the committee provide attention to the impact of online harms and issues regarding self-esteem in young women and girls; that the committee hear from witnesses and departmental officials for no fewer than 6 meetings; that the committee consider ways in which the Government of Canada can continue to strengthen mental health support for young women and girls; that the committee report its findings to the house; and that pursuant to Standing Order 109, the Government table a response thereto.

Emmanuella Lambropoulos gave notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), with consideration to the increasing number of femicides in Canada, the committee undertake a study examining the root causes of intimate partner and domestic violence; that the committee examine current support and protection infrastructures for women and girls subject to unsafe environments; that the committee consider additional ways in which the Government of Canada can contribute to the prevention of intimate partner violence and the protection of women and children fleeing violence; that the committee hear from witnesses for no fewer than 10 meetings and hear from departmental officials; that the committee report its findings to the House; and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the Government table a response in the house thereto.