Reports to the House
Committees make their views and
recommendations known to the House by way of reports. There are several types of
reports that committees may present, including: reports dealing with routine
matters affecting a committee’s operation (such as requesting the
extension of a deadline or permission to travel, or drawing the House’s
attention to irregularities in their proceedings); reports on bills, Estimates
or Order-in-Council nominees or appointees; and reports following the completion
of an inquiry into some matter referred by the House, or related to the mandate,
management or operation of a committee’s designated ministry or area of
responsibility. This includes not only subject-matter studies but also such
topics as the Public Accounts of Canada, delegated legislation and specific
procedural issues, such as questions of privilege, referred by the
House.
Power to Report
The power to report their findings to the
House is essential to the role of committees. The Standing Orders provide
standing committees with the power to report from time to time, enabling them to
report to the House as often as they see
fit. [543]
A similar
provision is usually included in the order of reference which establishes a
special
committee. [544]
Legislative committees are only empowered to report the bill or bills referred
to them with or without
amendment. [545]
Committees are entitled to report to the
House only with respect to matters within their mandate. When reporting to the
House, committees must indicate the authority under which the study was done
(i.e., the Standing Order or the order of reference). If the committee’s
report has exceeded or has been outside its order of reference, the Speaker has
judged such a report, or the offending section, to be out of
order. [546]
Although committees have conducted hearings
for the sole purpose of receiving a briefing on a certain
topic, [547]
most
committee studies result in reports to the House. A committee may present one or
several reports related to a particular study. In addition to any administrative
reports dealing with matters such as requests for additional powers or an
extension of the final reporting
deadline, [548]
the
committee may present interim reports or a series of reports dealing with
various aspects of the subject matter before
it. [549]
Sub-committees present their reports to the
main committee. [550]
The main committee may simply adopt the sub-committee report as its own or amend
it before doing
so. [551]
The report
is then presented to the House as a report from the main
committee. [552]
A committee may receive an order of
reference which includes a reporting deadline. Both Main and Supplementary
Estimates, as well as private Member’s bills are deemed reported back to
the House if the committee does not present its report within the time period
set out in the Standing
Orders. [553]
While no
time period is set out with respect to private bills, the Standing Orders
require that they be reported to the House in every
case. [554]
In some
cases, statutory reviews also carry reporting
deadlines. [555]
While
a committee ordinarily reports on any matter referred to it by the House, unless
the House sets out a specific deadline, the committee may report when it sees
fit. [556]
Once committee members have agreed on the
contents of the report, it is formally adopted by motion. The committee then
specifies clearly and explicitly, by way of a motion, the format of the
report. [557]
In
addition, the committee adopts another motion instructing the Chair to report it
to the House. [558]
As
final changes to the report may have been made at the meeting prior to its
adoption, it is also usual to adopt a motion giving editorial power to the
Chair, to ensure that the final text of the report in both official languages is
in conformity with the decisions taken by the committee, provided that no change
be made to the substance of the
report. [559]
The
committee may also adopt a motion, requesting that the government provide a
response to the committee’s
report. [560]
Finally,
the committee may decide to hold a press conference, following the presentation
of the report, to publicize the results of their
study. [561]
Contents and Format
Reports to the House can take a variety of
formats depending on the subject matter under consideration and the conclusions
which the committee has reached. Besides preparing printed versions of their
reports, committees have presented reports in Braille, on audiocassette and
computer diskette, and in large-print
formats. [562]
All
substantive reports are posted in electronic format at each committee’s
website. All reports cite the authority under which the study was conducted
(either the order of reference from the House or the appropriate Standing
Order), and are signed by the Chair of the committee. The Minutes of
Proceedings relevant to the report are tabled when the report is presented
to the House.
Reports on certain subjects, such as the
Estimates and Order-in-Council appointments, are restricted in the types of
recommendations which can be proposed. In the case of the Estimates, the
committee reports the Estimates as adopted, reduced or negatived. Reports on
Order-in-Council appointments indicate that the committee has reviewed the
appointment and states the committee’s view of the qualifications and
competence of the appointee. In consequence of this limited scope, reports on
these subjects follow brief, established formats. In the case of legislation,
the bill itself is reported back to the House, with or without amendments. When
a bill is referred to committee, the actual House copy of the bill is delivered
to the clerk of the committee. If the committee carries the bill without
amendment, it is this copy which is returned to the House, suitably endorsed, as
the committee’s report. Where the committee has ordered a reprint of the
bill, incorporating amendments made by the committee, a copy of the reprint is
tabled together with the original House copy of the bill. The reprinted copy of
the bill clearly indicates the changes which the committee has made to the
bill.
Committees also present a variety of
procedural or administrative reports from time to time, seeking additional
powers not provided in their permanent or special orders of reference. Where a
possible breach of privilege related to a committee’s work has occurred,
the committee is not empowered to deal with the matter itself, but may report
the incident to the
House. [563]
Substantive Reports
Substantive reports, especially lengthy
ones, are often prepared as printed documents with special covers. While
committees have considerable latitude in the format of such reports, there are a
number of elements which are normally included. The text of the report follows
the citation of the authority under which the study was carried out. It outlines
the issue or issues dealt with and often includes reference to appropriate
portions of the submissions the committee received, both oral and written. For
large studies, the text is usually divided into separate chapters, dealing with
the various aspects of the subject. Following the text, the committee’s
recommendations on the subject are listed. Appendices are usually included,
listing the witnesses heard and the briefs submitted in the course of the study.
If the committee has chosen to request a government response to the report, the
request is inserted before the Chair’s signature at the end of the report.
Any dissenting or supplementary opinions which the committee has agreed to
attach appear after the Chair’s signature. The relevant minutes of
proceedings, relating to the committee’s adoption of the report, conclude
the document. [564]
Supplementary and Dissenting Opinions
A committee report reflects the opinion of
the committee and not that of the individual members. Members of the committee
who disagree with the decision of the majority may not present a separate
report. There is no provision in the Standing Orders or the practices of the
House for presenting minority
reports. [565]
Where
one or several members of a standing committee are in disagreement with the
committee’s report or wish to make supplementary comments, the committee
may decide to append such opinions to the
report, [566]
after
the signature of the
Chair. [567]
Dissenting or supplementary opinions may be presented by any member of a
committee. [568]
Although committees have the power to append these opinions to their reports,
they are not obliged to do
so. [569]
In agreeing
to append a dissenting or supplementary opinion, the committee will often
specify the maximum length of the text, the deadline for submission to the clerk
and whether it is to be submitted in one or both official
languages. [570]
Presentation in the House
Committee reports are presented during the
Daily Routine of Business, when the Speaker calls, “Presenting Reports
from
Committees”. [571]
Reports are ordinarily presented by the Chair, on instruction from the
committee. [572]
In
the Chair’s absence, a report may be presented by another member of the
committee. The Member presenting a report may offer a brief explanation of its
subject matter. [573]
Where a report has supplementary or dissenting opinions appended to it, a
committee member from the Official Opposition may offer a succinct
explanation. [574]
The
Standing Orders do not permit any other Member to comment on the report at this
time. Where no dissenting or supplementary opinion has been appended, no other
Member is permitted to comment on the report when it is presented. On occasion,
the House has granted consent to Members from other parties to make a brief
statement either concerning a dissenting opinion or on the report
itself. [575]
The House sometimes makes provision for the
presentation of committee reports during adjournment periods, by having them
filed with the Clerk of the House. This has been done both for individual
reports and as a general provision for any committee reports completed during
the adjournment period. [576]
Committee reports must be presented to the
House before they can be released to the public. The majority of committee
reports are discussed and adopted at in camera meetings. Even when a
report is adopted in public session, the report itself is considered
confidential until it has actually been presented in the House. In addition,
where a committee report has been considered and approved during in
camera committee meetings, any disclosure of the contents of a report prior
to presentation, either by Members or non-Members, may be judged a breach of
privilege. Speakers have ruled that questions of privilege concerning leaked
reports will not be considered unless a specific charge is made against an
individual, organization or group, and that the charge must be levelled not only
against those outside the House who have made in camera material public,
but must also identify the source of the leak within the House
itself. [577]
It is not in order for Members to allude to
committee proceedings or evidence in the House until the committee has presented
its report to the House. This restriction applies both to references made by
Members in debate and during Oral Question
Period. [578]
If there
is an irregularity in the committee’s proceedings, the House can only be
seized of it once it is reported to the
House. [579]
Concurrence
Concurrence in a committee report may be
moved by any Member of the House, after 48 hours’ notice, during Routine
Proceedings. The concurrence motion is moved under the heading
“Motions” [580]
and is debatable. [581]
A motion to concur in a report on the
Estimates can only be debated on an allotted day under the Business of
Supply. [582]
The
Standing Orders also provide a special procedure for concurrence in reports
concerning the revocation of a regulation, contained in a report from the
Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of
Regulations. [583]
Where a bill has been reported back from committee, it is subject to the rules
and practices governing the legislative process, rather than those relating to
committee reports in
general. [584]
The House frequently gives its consent to
waive the 48 hours’ notice required by the Standing
Orders [585]
in order
to concur in a report concerning certain administrative matters, such as changes
to the membership of committees. Reports concerning the selection of votable
items of Private Members’ Business and the membership of legislative
committees are deemed adopted when presented in the
House. [586]
Recommendations in committee reports are
drafted in the form of motions so that, if the reports are concurred in, the
recommendations become clear orders or resolutions of the
House. [587]
In
framing their recommendations, committees cannot exceed the authority of the
House. Most importantly, with respect to the expenditure of funds or the
introduction of legislation, committees may recommend only that the government
“consider the advisability” of such
measures. [588]
When a motion to concur in a report is
before the House, it is the concurrence in the report as a whole which the House
is considering. No amendment may be presented to the text of the
report. [589]
A motion
may be presented to recommit the report to the committee so that the report may
be re-examined. [590]
Government Response
When a report is presented in the House, a
standing or special committee may request that the government table a
comprehensive response to it within 150
days. [591]
The
committee may request a response either to the whole report or to one or more
parts. [592]
The
request for a partial response does not prevent the government from responding
to the entire report. Speakers have consistently refused to define
“comprehensive” in this context, maintaining that the nature of the
response must be left to the discretion of the
government. [593]
When
the House is sitting, the response may be tabled by a Minister or a
Parliamentary Secretary during Routine Proceedings under “Tabling of
Documents” or filed with the
Clerk. [594]
When the
House is adjourned, the response may be filed with the Clerk, or the Minister
may wait until the House resumes sitting to table
it. [595]
The Speaker
has ruled that a request for a government response survives a prorogation in the
same manner as orders for the production of
papers. [596]
The
Standing Orders do not provide for any sanction should the government fail to
comply with the requirement to present a
response. [597]