Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Transport and Communications
Issue No. 1 - Evidence, December 11, 2015
OTTAWA, Friday, December 11, 2015
The Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications met this day at 2:10 p.m., pursuant to rule 12- 13 of the Rules of the Senate, to organize the activities of the committee.
[English]
Daniel Charbonneau, Clerk of the Committee: Honourable senators, as clerk of your committee, it is my duty to preside over the election of the chair. I am ready to receive a motion to that effect. Are there any nominations?
Senator Plett: I move that Senator Dawson be the chair of the committee.
Mr. Charbonneau: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Plett that the Honourable Senator Dawson do take the chair of this committee. Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
[Translation]
Mr. Charbonneau: I invite the Honourable Senator Dawson to take the chair.
[English]
Senator Dennis Dawson (Chair) in the chair.
The Chair: Next is the election of a deputy chair.
Senator Mercer: I move that Senator Michael L. MacDonald be deputy chair.
The Chair: Any objections?
Adopted.
The next motion concerns the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure. It is moved that the Honourable Senator Unger will be the third member of the subcommittee on agenda; that it will be composed of the chair, the deputy chair and one other member. The subcommittee will be empowered to make decisions on behalf of the committee with respect to its agenda, to invite the witnesses and to schedule hearings.
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Next is a motion to publish the committee's proceedings?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Authorization to hold meetings and receive evidence when quorum is not present.
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Research staff: That the committee ask the Library of Parliament to assign analysts to the committee for research staff.
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: The authority to commit funds and certify accounts.
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: That the committee empower the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure to proceed to designate, as required, one or more members of the committee to travel.
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: It is moved that the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be authorized to determine whether any member of the committee is on "official business''; to consider any member of the committee on "official business,'' if that member is attending an event, he is doing it on behalf of the committee.
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: That the subcommittee report at the earliest opportunity any decisions taken with respect to the designation of members.
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Travelling and living expenses: It is moved by Senator Greene that pursuant to the Senate guidelines, witness expenses be reimbursed.
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Broadcasting: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Mercer that the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be empowered to allow coverage by electronic media of the committee's public proceedings with the least possible disruption of its hearings at its discretion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: The time slot for the regular meetings will be, as it was in the past, Tuesday mornings at 9:30 and Wednesday when the Senate rises, but not before 6:45.
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Under "Other business,'' as chair, I will write, with the clerk, to all the members to try to get some subject matter that we could be studying, to be off and running when we get back in January. If you agree, since we had alternated between transport and communications, and the last study was on communications, would you mind if I checked with Transport to see if there is any subject they think we should be studying?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: When we did the study on airports and the airlines, it was a recommendation that had been made by the Minister of Transport. It was a very good study, so I will talk to the minister's office.
(The committee adjourned.)