60 Elizabeth II, A.D. 2011, Canada

Journals of the Senate
(Unrevised)

3rd Session, 40th Parliament

Issue 93 - Appendix

Wednesday, March 9, 2011
1:30 p.m.

The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

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

FOURTH REPORT

Pursuant to rule 86(1)(f)(i), your committee is pleased to report as follows:

1. Your committee has been engaged in the study of the committee system in the Senate over the course of the second and third sessions of the 40th Parliament. Your committee has examined the committee system taking into consideration the size, mandate, quorum and number of standing committees along with the related issues of the available human and financial resources allocated to committees.

2. Your committee was assisted in its study by various briefing notes and discussion papers prepared by staff of the Library of Parliament including briefing notes on the committee systems in the upper chambers of the United Kingdom, France, the United States of America and Australia. In addition, your committee invited all Honourable senators to complete a survey questionnaire in which senators could express their preferences on various features of a committee system such as the appropriate number of standing committees, committee quorums and committee mandates. Approximately 50 senators participated in the survey. In addition, your committee invited senators to appear before your committee and provide their views on what changes would be desirable for the Senate's committee system.

3. In the course of its study, your committee developed a proposal for regrouping the mandates of standing committees, except joint committees. This proposal was discussed and refined over the course of the study. The proposal would result in the following standing committee mandate regroupings or re-designations to be implemented in the next Parliament:

• Banking, Trade, Commerce and Transport (mandate to include international trade);

• Environment and Energy;

• Health, Social Affairs and Culture;

• Human Rights and Equality;

• Foreign Affairs and National Defence;

• Natural Resources (with mandates for fisheries, oceans, agriculture and forestry); and

• Science, Technology and Communications.

The mandates of the remaining standing committees would be unaffected by the proposal:

• Aboriginal Peoples;

• Conflict of Interest for Senators;

• Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration;

• Legal and Constitutional Affairs;

• National Finance;

• Official Languages;

• Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament; and

• Committee of Selection.

4. Your committee considers this proposal to be a proposal in principle given that there are a number of implications that need to be addressed including: scheduling, and changes to the Rules of the Senate to more precisely define the mandates of the re-designated committees and establish the quorum and number of senators to be appointed to these committees. These implications will be addressed in another report to be presented in the Senate at a later date for formal adoption by the Senate.

Your committee recommends that:

(a) The Senate adopt the proposal to restructure the committee system in principle as detailed in paragraph 3 of this report; and

(b) The Committee be authorized to report to the Senate with recommendations to put these changes and mandates into effect.

Respectfully submitted,

DAVID P. SMITH

Chair