Frequently Asked Questions - Committees of the House of Commons

Definitions

Parliament
The word “Parliament” has two meanings: (1) the legislative body composed of the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General), the Senate and the House of Commons; and (2) the period of time during which members of the legislative body are assembled and can exercise its powers. A House of Commons, and thus Parliament, has a constitutionally determined maximum lifespan of five years, beginning on the day established for the return of the writs of election. A Parliament ends either with dissolution (and the subsequent calling of a general election) or when the five-year limit is reached.
Session
A Parliament is usually divided into several sessions. A session consists of a number of separate sittings. Sessions begin with a Speech from the Throne and end when Parliament is prorogued or dissolved.
Debates (Hansard)
The Official Report of Debates is the verbatim report — transcribed, edited and corrected — of what was said in the House of Commons and Committee of the Whole. The Debates, also known as “Hansard”, are published separately in English and French after each sitting. (Hansard was the name of the British family originally responsible for arranging the official reporting of debates in the British House of Commons.)

The Debates follow the actual order of the proceedings of the House, recording both the speeches of Members in debate and other comments and remarks made by Members in the Chamber. The Debates also contain lists of recorded votes, written answers to certain questions, and the text of the Speech from the Throne at the beginning of a session of Parliament.
Minutes of Proceedings
The Minutes of Proceedings are the formal record of the business that occurred during a committee meeting. The Minutes of Proceedings are prepared by the Clerk of the committee, and include the following information:
1. the meeting number;
2. the time and place of the meeting;
3. whether the meeting was held in public or in camera and whether it was televised;
4. who presided over the meeting;
5. the names of committee members, substitutes and other Members and Senators in attendance;
6. the names of staff in attendance;
7. the names of witnesses, if any, including their titles and affiliated organizations;
8. the orders of reference that were taken up;
9. any motions debated and whether or not they were adopted by the committee; and
10. the time of adjournment.
The Minutes of Proceedings of a committee can be found by clicking on the “Meetings” section of a committee’s Web site.
Evidence
The Evidence is the in extenso transcript of what is said during a committee meeting, and is similar to the Debates for the House of Commons. The Evidence includes remarks made by both committee members and by witnesses appearing before the committee. It is published for public meetings, or for those parts of a meeting that are held in public. The Evidence for a committee meeting is prepared in both English and French and is usually available within 10 calendar days after a committee meeting. The Evidence can be found by clicking on the “Meetings” section of a committee’s Web site.
Committee hearing
A committee hearing is a committee meeting at which witnesses are heard, either publicly or in camera. A committee may hold hearings to study a bill or a particular subject-matter.
In camera meeting
An in camera meeting occurs when the public and media are excluded from a committee meeting. Committees routinely meet in this way to deal with administrative matters and to consider draft reports. The decision to meet in camera rests with the committee.
Committee
A committee is a body of Members, or Members and Senators, selected to consider such matters, including proposed legislation, as the House may refer to it or empower it to examine. Committees may, at the conclusion of a study, report their findings to the House of Commons. Committees, except for a Committee of the Whole, meet outside the House of Commons chamber and, from time to time, may meet outside the parliamentary precinct.

There are several types of committees: legislative, special, standing, and joint committees, as well as subcommittees, Committees of the Whole and the Liaison Committee.
1. legislative committee: a committee created under the Standing Orders on an ad hoc basis to study a bill in detail either before or after second reading. A legislative committee may report the bill to the House, with or without amendments, but may not make any substantive report about the bill. Once it has made its final report, the committee ceases to exist.
2. special committee: a group of Members, or of Members and Senators, appointed to study a particular matter. Special Committees are established by the adoption by the House of a motion that outlines the mandate, powers and often the membership of the special committee. Once it has made its final report, the committee ceases to exist.
3. standing committee: a permanent committee established by the Standing Orders of the House. It may study matters referred to it by special order or, within its area of responsibility in the Standing Orders, may undertake studies on its own initiative. There are currently 26 standing committees (24 House of Commons standing committees and two standing joint committees), many with particular responsibilities to examine the administration, policy development, and budgetary estimates of certain government departments and agencies. Certain standing committees are also given mandates to examine matters that have government-wide implications (e.g. official languages policy, multiculturalism policy) or that may not relate to a particular department (e.g. procedure of the House of Commons).
4. joint committee: a committee composed of a proportionate number of members of both the House of Commons and the Senate. It may be established by the procedural rules of both Houses (standing joint committee) or by a motion adopted by both Houses (special joint committee).
5. subcommittee: a committee of a committee, to which the latter may delegate all of its powers, except the power to report to the House. Not all special committees are granted the power to establish subcommittees. A subcommittee is generally composed of fewer members than the main committee and its members are chosen from the list of members and associate members of the main committee.
6. Committee of the Whole (House): all of the Members of the House sitting in the chamber as a committee. A Committee of the Whole, sometimes called a Committee of the Whole House, is normally presided over by the Deputy Speaker, who is Chair of the Committee of the Whole, rather than by the Speaker. A Committee of the Whole may be formed to study a bill after second reading, or to deal with appropriation bills or any other matters referred to it by the House.
7. Liaison committee: the committee composed of the chairs of each standing committee and of the member of each standing joint committee who is its chair or vice-chair. The Liaison Committee is responsible, among other matters, for apportioning funds to standing committees from the amount authorized by the Board of Internal Economy.
Witness
A witness is any person invited to appear before a committee to provide information or an opinion on a particular subject, or to provide technical advice with respect to a bill. While testifying, witnesses enjoy the same privilege of freedom of speech as Members.

Witnesses at committees may include private individuals, experts, representatives of groups and organizations, lobbyists, public servants, and ministers of the Crown. Committees invite these individuals to appear before them to gather information relevant to the issue they are studying. Committees may select witnesses according to several criteria, including the type of study and the amount of time available. When committees are not able to hear the testimony of all witnesses who wish to appear, they may ask those they cannot accommodate to submit written briefs instead of testifying in person.

For more information about appearing as a witness, please consult A Guide for Witnesses Appearing Before Committees of the House of Commons. Information about the appearance of a particular witness before a committee can be obtained by using the search tool found in the Witness Information section.
Brief
For committee purposes, a brief is any document presenting the views of an individual, group, organization or government department with respect to a particular issue.

For more information about submitting a brief to a committee, please consult Preparing a Submission to a House of Commons Committee.

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About Committees

What happens in committee?
The bulk of Members’ parliamentary work is done in committee. There they study and amend bills, and examine important issues and departmental spending plans (known as the Estimates) in depth. Committee work requires Members to read background documents and meet experts in various fields, including lawyers, economists, special interest groups, business persons and senior government officials. Committee work enables Members to study issues and legislation in greater detail than is possible in the Chamber.

In general, Members sit on at least two committees. There are 26 permanent, or standing, committees, a Liaison Committee, a number of subcommittees, as well as special and legislative committees that may be set up from time to time to consider a specific issue or a particular bill. Committee schedules may vary from week to week and committees may travel across the country or abroad as part of their studies.
How do I contact a committee?
You may contact a committee by mail, fax, e-mail or telephone. Contact information for a specific committee can be found by clicking on the committee name in the Committee List and then clicking on the “Contact (CMTE)” link on the title bar.

For general information about committees, you can contact the Committees Directorate at:

Committees Directorate
Sixth Floor, 180 Wellington Street
Wellington Building
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Canada

Tel: (613) 992-3150
Fax: (613) 996-1626
E-mail: cmteweb@parl.gc.ca
Can I use this Web site to inform Members of Parliament about issues of concern to me?
Should you have an interest in an issue that is under study by a committee, or falls within the mandate of a particular committee, you may contact the committee by mail, fax, e-mail or telephone. Contact information for a committee can be found by clicking on the committee name in the Committee List and then clicking on the “Contact (CMTE)” link on the title bar.

Should you wish to contact a member of a committee directly, contact information for the member can be obtained by clicking on the member’s name within the committee membership list. The membership lists can be accessed by clicking either Memberships, at the global level, or by clicking on the “Membership” section of the Web site for the committee.
When do committees meet?
Most standing committees normally meet twice a week, but this is subject to change depending on the House of Commons’ schedule, a committee’s workload and a number of other factors. Please consult the Notices of Meetings section for the list of upcoming meetings for all committees or the “Meetings” section of a particular committee’s Web site for information about both upcoming and past meetings of that committee.
Can I attend a committee meeting?
Committee meetings are generally open to the public. Most meetings are held in one of the committee meeting rooms on Parliament Hill, but from time to time committees may also hold hearings in other locations. For the latest schedule of committee meetings, and to check whether or not a committee meeting will be held in public, please consult the Notices of Meetings section.

If it is not possible to attend a committee meeting, you can monitor the Webcast of committee meetings on the Internet through ParlVU. ParlVU provides users with live video streaming of televised House of Commons committees and live audio streaming of all other House of Commons committee meetings that are open to the public.
How can I contribute to a committee’s work?
A committee decides, on a case-by-case basis, how it will proceed with its work. A committee may hear from many or only a few witnesses, and call for briefs from interested parties. Please consult the “Studies and Activities” section of a committee’s Web site for information about how and when a committee may be dealing with a particular matter.

A Guide for Witnesses Appearing Before House of Commons Committees and Preparing a Submission to a House of Commons Committee also provide information about preparing to appear before or make a submission to a committee.

You may also contact a committee directly for information about its work. For contact information for a particular committee, click on the committee name in the Committee List and then click on the “Contact (CMTE)” link on the title bar.
Who are the members of the various committees?
Parliamentary committees are made up of Members of the House of Commons, members of the Senate, or a combination of both. At the start of each session, each autumn, and from time to time as required, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs establishes membership lists for House committees. This list is then approved by the House of Commons.

Most standing committees have 12 members, and the party distribution on committees reflects the party distribution in the House of Commons. For membership lists of committees, please consult Memberships on the House of Commons Committees Web site. Each name on the membership list is linked to biographical and contact information for that committee member.
What is the Committee Chair’s role and how is he or she chosen?
A Committee Chair is the member selected by the committee to act as the presiding officer for the committee. Joint committees have Co-Chairs, one from each House. Where there is more than one nomination for the position of Chair or Vice-Chair, the selection is done by secret ballot. This secret-ballot procedure is followed for House of Commons committees and for the House of Commons Co-Chair of a joint committee. The selection of the Senate Co-Chair of a joint committee is guided by the Rules of the Senate.

Under the procedural rules of the House, the Chair has the power to maintain order and decorum during meetings and to decide all questions of order and procedure. The Chair's duties and responsibilities also include the following:
1. to preside at meetings and to ensure, in the event of his or her anticipated absence, the presence of the Vice-Chair or an Acting Chair;
2. to call meetings on the committee’s authority, or when requested in writing by four members of the committee;
3. to recognize members and to decide their order of speaking in accordance with established procedure;
4. to prepare, along with the Clerk, the committee's budgets;
5. to sign contracts on behalf of the committee; and
6. to sign committee reports and present them to the House of Commons.
Who are the committee staff members?
Many people contribute to the effective operation of a committee. The principal committee staff members include the Committee Clerk, Analysts (researchers), Administrative and Logistics Officers and Committee Assistants.

The Committee Clerk is the executive secretary to the committee and the procedural advisor to both the Chair and the committee members. The Clerk performs his or her duties and responsibilities in constant consultation with the Chair. As a non-partisan and independent officer of the committee, the Clerk serves all members of the committee and representatives of all parties equally.

The Parliamentary Information and Research Service (part of the Library of Parliament) provides one or more researchers, called Analysts, to each committee. The work undertaken, which varies according to the needs of the committee, may include any combination of the following:
1. assisting members in drawing up a plan of action and schedule for committee hearings;
2. preparing a proposed list of witnesses to be heard by the committee, often with background information on each group or individual;
3. preparing briefing papers, briefing notes for committee hearings, biographies of witnesses, and summaries of briefs;
4. giving oral briefings to committees;
5. consulting with and giving advice to individual members;
6. drafting in-depth papers on specific issues;
7. collating and analysing evidence; and
8. creating briefing binders, draft reports and press releases.
Committee Clerks are assisted by Committee Assistants and by Administrative and Logistics Officers. These individuals help the Clerk in many ways, including preparing and coordinating the distribution of documents, arranging for translation, making travel arrangements and room bookings, providing administrative support, and responding to inquiries about the committee.
Why are there sometimes delays in the posting of Committee Evidence?
The production of a committee’s Evidence requires approximately 10 calendar days for most committee meetings, due to transcription, editing, translation and desktop publishing requirements. The production of the Minutes of Proceedings, on the other hand, normally occurs in much shorter time periods, usually within two working days. These documents are posted on the Parliament of Canada Web site as soon as final copies are available. Both items can be found by clicking on the “Meetings” section of the Web site for a particular committee.

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Technical FAQ

Can I change the text or font size on this Web site so that it is easier to read?
You can easily adjust the text size on this Web site to make it smaller or larger. In Internet Explorer, select the “View” tab on the menu bar, point to the “Text Size”, and then choose your preference. In Netscape Navigator, select the “View” tab on the menu bar and choose either “Increase Font” or “Decrease Font”.
Are there any browser limitations on the House of Commons Committees Web sites?
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					10-27-2006