Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Energy, the
Environment and Natural Resources
Issue 1 - Evidence
OTTAWA, Tuesday, November 23, 1999
The Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources met this day at 5:14 p.m. to organize the activities of the committee.
[English]
Mr. Till Heyde, 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 motions to that effect.
Senator Cochrane: I move that Senator Spivak be the Chair of the Energy Committee.
Mr. Heyde: Are there any other motions?
There being none, is it your pleasure to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
Mr. Heyde: The motion is carried. I invite Senator Spivak to take the Chair.
Senator Mira Spivak (Chairman) in the Chair.
The Chairman: Thank you, senators. I do not want any of you to worry that I will attempt to make this committee any greener than it is now, but I am making no promises about how red it might be. I hope that we will do some good things together. I certainly have big shoes to fill following Senator Ghitter.
We now need a motion for deputy chair.
Senator Christensen: I move that Senator Taylor be the Deputy Chair of this committee.
The Chairman: Are there any other nominations?
There being none, is that agreed?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chairman: The motion is carried. Congratulations, Senator Taylor.
The third item on the agenda is the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure. I would entertain the following motion:
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman, and one other member of the Committee to be designated after the usual consultation; and
That the Subcommittee be empowered to make decisions on behalf of the committee with respect to its agenda, to invite witnesses and to schedule hearings.
Senator Chalifoux: I so move.
The Chairman: Is there any discussion?
There being none, is it your pleasure to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chairman: The motion is carried.
I would entertain the following motion:
That the committee print 250 copies of its proceedings; and
That the Chairman be authorized to adjust this number to meet demand.
Senator Taylor: I so move.
The Chairman: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chairman: The motion is carried.
I would entertain the following motion:
That, pursuant to Rule 89, the Chairman be authorized to hold meetings, to receive and authorize the printing of the evidence when a quorum is not present, provided that a representative of the government and a representative from the opposition are present.
Senator Chalifoux: I so move.
The Chairman: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chairman: The motion is carried.
I would entertain the following motion:
That, pursuant to Rule 104, the Chairman be authorized to report expenses incurred by the committee during the last session.
Senator Eyton: I so move.
The Chairman: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chairman: The motion is carried.
I would entertain the following motion:
That the committee ask the Library of Parliament to assign research officers to the committee;
That the Chairman be authorized to seek authority from the Senate to engage the services of such counsel and technical, clerical and other personnel as may be necessary for the purpose of the committee's examination and consideration of such bills, subject-matters of bills and estimates as are referred to it;
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be authorized to retain the services of such experts as may be required by the work of the committee; and
That the Chairman, on behalf of the committee, direct the research staff in the preparation of studies, analyses, summaries and draft reports.
Senator Buchanan: I so move.
The Chairman: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chairman: The motion is carried.
I would entertain the following motion:
That, pursuant to section 32 of the Financial Administration Act, authority to commit funds be conferred on the Chairman or, in the Chairman's absence, the Deputy Chairman; and
That, pursuant to section 34 of the Financial Administration Act, and Guideline 3:05 of Appendix II of the Rules of the Senate, authority for certifying accounts payable by the committee be conferred individually on the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman, and the Clerk of the Committee.
Senator Christensen: I so move.
The Chairman: Is there any discussion?
Senator Sibbeston: This is pretty critical in terms of monies for the operation of the committee and who is authorized to make the decisions. What does this entail?
The Chairman: No funds are distributed unless they are approved by the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration. Once they are approved by Internal Economy, there are matters such as which senators want to attend which conferences. That is purely administrative. I do not think it involves deploying funds that are not duly approved. Is that correct?
Mr. Heyde: Yes, that is correct.
The Chairman: In other words, it is just a matter of who administers it.
Senator Sibbeston: The motion reads:
[...] authority for certifying accounts payable by the committee be conferred individually on the Chairman, the Deputy Chair, and the Clerk of the Committee.
The Chairman: I will ask the clerk to comment.
Mr. Heyde: Pursuant to the first clause, Senator Spivak, or, in her absence, Senator Taylor, would have the authority to commit funds. Under the second clause, Senator Spivak, Senator Taylor or myself could certify that the funds were properly expended in accordance with the authorization. It is just that three people can sign but not all three must sign.
Senator Sibbeston: Thank you.
The Chairman: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chairman: The motion is carried.
I would entertain the following motion:
That the committee empower the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure to designate, as required, one or more members of the committee and/or such staff as may be necessary to travel on assignment on behalf of the committee; and
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be authorized to:
1) determine whether any member of the Committee is on "official business" for the purposes of paragraph 8(3)(a) of the Senators Attendance Policy, published in the Journals of the Senate on Wednesday, June 3, 1998; and
2) consider any member of the Committee to be on "official business" if that member is: (a) attending a function, event or meeting related to the work of the Committee; or (b) making a presentation related to the work of the Committee.
For the information of new members, we attend certain conferences on energy and the environment. I do not remember any conferences on natural resources. We have a list of those conferences and members can choose which ones they wish to attend. That is what this is about. As well, there is usually a trip every year or two to Washington or California.
Is there any question or debate?
Senator Cochrane: I move the motion.
The Chairman: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chairman: The motion is carried.
I would entertain the following motion:
That, pursuant to the Senate guidelines for witnesses' expenses, the committee may reimburse reasonable travelling and living expenses for one witness from any one organization and payment will take place upon application, but that the Chairman be authorized to approve expenses for a second witness should there be exceptional circumstances.
This is a change. I will ask the clerk to comment.
Senator Taylor: What is the change?
The Chairman: It used to be two witnesses.
Mr. Heyde: The guidelines allow each committee to reimburse expenses for up to two witnesses. Under this, the norm would be only one witness per organization. Under exceptional circumstances, such as if a witness needed assistance to come to the committee, the chair would be empowered to authorize expenses for the second person. It would not be going beyond what the committee is empowered to do, it would just make the norm one witness per organization.
The Chairman: This is an attempt to cut expenses. The rule would be only one witness, but a decision could be made to have two.
Senator Buchanan: I move the motion.
The Chairman: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chairman: The motion is carried.
I would entertain the following motion:
That the Chairman be authorized to seek permission from the Senate to permit coverage by electronic media of its public proceedings with the least possible disruption of its hearings; and
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be empowered to allow such coverage at its discretion.
Senator Chalifoux: I so move.
The Chairman: There being no discussion, is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chairman: The motion is carried.
Finally, the time slot for regular meetings is Tuesday when the Senate rises, but not before 5 p.m., and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
The committee continued in camera.