On motion of Pierre Paul-Hus, it was agreed, — That Robert Kitchen be elected Chair of the committee.

Robert Kitchen took the Chair.

On motion of Irek Kusmierczyk, it was agreed, — That Majid Jowhari be elected as First Vice-Chair of the committee.

On motion of Anthony Housefather, it was agreed, — That Julie Vignola be elected as Second Vice-Chair of the committee.

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

On motion of Irek Kusmierczyk, 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 Irek Kusmierczyk, it was agreed, — That witnesses be given five minutes for their opening statement; that whenever possible, witnesses provide the committee with their opening statement 72 hours in advance; that at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six minutes for the first questioner of each party as follows for the first round:

• Conservative Party
• Liberal Party
• Bloc Québécois
• New Democratic Party

that for the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows:

• Conservative Party, five minutes
• Liberal Party, five minutes
• Bloc Québécois, two and a half minutes
• New Democratic Party, two and a half minutes
• Conservative Party, five minutes
• Liberal Party, five minutes.

On motion of Irek Kusmierczyk, it was agreed, — That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the committee provided the documents are in both official languages, and that the witnesses be advised accordingly.

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

On motion of Irek Kusmierczyk, 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 Irek Kusmierczyk, 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 Irek Kusmierczyk, 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 Irek Kusmierczyk, 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 Irek Kusmierczyk, 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.

Gord Johns 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.

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

YEAS: Gord Johns — 1;

NAYS: Paramvir Bains, Anthony Housefather, Majid Jowhari, Irek Kusmierczyk, Ben Lobb, Kelly McCauley, Pierre Paul-Hus, Joanne Thompson, Julie Vignola — 9.

Julie Vignola moved, — That, in light of the Prime Minister's call to the country's businesses to produce personal protective equipment and that since then several Quebec and Canadian businesses have responded, the Committee deplores the fact that the masks distributed on Parliament Hill and in the various federal departments and agencies come from abroad and not from local businesses;

That the administration of the House and the federal Government take steps to ensure that, as of January 31, 2022, the masks distributed on Parliament Hill and in the various federal departments and agencies come from Quebec and/or Canadian companies that produce this type of personal protective equipment.

Debate arose thereon.

At 11:43 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 11:51 a.m., the sitting resumed.

The debate continued.

The debate on the motion, as amended, continued.

The debate on the motion, as amended, continued.

At 1:01 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 1:03 p.m., the sitting resumed.

The debate continued on the amendment.

It was agreed, — That the debate be now adjourned.