51 Elizabeth II, A.D. 2002, Canada

Journals of the Senate

2nd Session, 37th Parliament

Issue 24 - Appendix "B"

Tuesday, December 3, 2002
2:00 p.m.

The Honourable Daniel Hays, Speaker

Tuesday, December 3, 2002

The Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament has the honour to present its

FIFTH REPORT

1. On Thursday, October 31, 2002, the Senate referred the following motion to your Committee:

That for the duration of the present session any select committee may meet during adjournments of the Senate.

2. On November 7, 2002, the Senate adopted your Committee's Second Report, as amended, which provided ``that, for the purpose of Rule 95(3), committees of the Senate be permitted to meet at any time on any weekday Monday to Friday the Senate stands adjourned during a Senate sitting week.''

3. There is no question that highly important work is done by the committees of the Senate. Indeed, the Senate has benefited greatly from the very favourable public reaction to many committee reports, including several recent ones. The Rules of the Senate should facilitate the ability of committees to function.

4. Committee meetings during extended adjournments of the Senate, however, raise a number of significant issues and questions. On the one hand, committee meetings during periods when the Senate is not sitting can be very valuable and useful. Such meetings can be longer and more intensive than are otherwise possible. Moreover, the logistics of travel by committees is considerably easier when the Senate is not sitting.

5. At the same time, there is a need for the Senate to have advance knowledge of, and some degree of control over, plans for committee meetings. There is also the fact that Senators generally are interested in and often follow the proceedings of committees on which they are not members. In addition, Senators want and need some certainty and ability in planning their schedules, including during adjournments.

6. Your Committee believes that clearer processes for determining whether and when committees should meet during adjournments are required. Your Committee believes that its role is to provide clarification and guidance to the Senate and Senators in dealing with committee meetings during extended adjournments.

7. Your Committee recommends that Senate committees should be required to obtain permission of the Senate in order to meet during any extended adjournment. In other words, your Committee recommends that committees comply with Rule 95(3) of the Senate. This requires giving at least one day's notice of such a motion, which allows all Senators to consider and participate in the decision-making process. Your Committee would expect that before giving notice of such a motion, there would be appropriate consultations with the members of the full committee or of the sub-committee on agenda and procedure, as well as the party whips, in order to ensure full participation in committee. In moving such a motion, the mover should be expected to set forth compelling and convincing arguments and reasons for allowing the committee to meet during the adjournment.

8. Your Committee also believes that there should be a procedure in place for dealing with urgent situations, which may arise during an extended adjournment. For instance, during the winter or summer adjournment, an important dignitary may become available for a meeting, or an issue may suddenly take on some urgency. As such, meetings cannot always be foreseen, and it may not be possible to obtain permission of the Senate in advance, another procedure should be available. This would involve a written request signed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the committee in question, and consent being obtained from the Government and Opposition Leaders or any Senators named by such Leaders in the Senate. In all such cases, if such meetings are agreed to, the committee will be required to ensure that all Senators are provided with advance notice of the impending meeting, by means of electronic distribution, or otherwise.

Your Committee, therefore, recommends Rule 95 be amended by deleting the existing Rule 95(3), and substituting in its place the following new paragraph (3):

95(3) A select committee may meet during an adjournment of the Senate which exceeds a week by:

(a) an order of the Senate; or

(b) the signed consent of the Government and Opposition Leaders, or any Senators named by such Leaders to a written request made by the Chair and the Deputy Chair.

Respectfully submitted,

LORNA MILNE

Chair