After receiving First and Second Reading, a Bill goes before a Standing or Special Committee, or before a Committee of the Whole House for consideration. It is during this third stage, the Committee Stage, that the content of a Bill is reviewed in detail.

As well as Bills, Committees may consider Annual Reports. During the consideration of Bills, Committees may call witnesses and obtain expert advice. Committees may only examine matters referred to them, and must report their findings back to the House.

Public participation is allowed during the Committee stage of a Bill. Citizens interested in presenting information relating to a particular Bill, or speaking for or against it, may register on a "presenters list" by contacting the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.

At the start of the first session of each Legislature, a Special Committee of seven Members submits a report recommending a list of Members to serve on the various Committees. On adoption of the Report, the Committees are established.

At the start of each committee meeting, the Whip or the Whip’s designate must provide in writing to the Committee Clerk the membership list of Members to serve on the committee for that particular meeting. Changes can also be made during the meeting by the Whip or Whip’s designate providing written notification to the Chairperson.

Every committee has a Chairperson. At the first meeting of a Committee, the first order of business is the election of a Chairperson.

The Chairperson maintains order and decides all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Committee.

Only when votes are tied, can a Chairperson cast the deciding vote.

Committee meetings are usually held at the Legislative Building. There have been a number of occasions in the past, however, where meetings have been held in rural areas.

After consulting with the Opposition House Leader, the Government House Leader schedules the meetings after the Bill receives Second Reading.

Members of the public may speak on a Bill at this stage. To do so, they must register with the Office of the Clerk, (204) 945-3636, but only after the Bill has received First Reading.

Required registration information includes: the presenter's name, address, home phone number, work phone number, whether or not the presenter is a private citizen or is speaking on behalf of an organization - which organization - as well as the name and number of the Bill.

Upon arrival, out of town presenters should notify the Committee Clerk or Chairperson that they are from out of town. The Chairperson will usually request that the Committee decide whether or not to hear from out of town presenters first.

There is no way of knowing how far in advance a Committee meeting will be scheduled. However, two-days notice must be given in the House of the first meeting of a Standing or Special Committee considering the Bill, if presenters are registered to speak when the meeting is set.

Presenters are placed on a "list of presenters," in order of registration. Once the Government House Leader has called a meeting, presenters are contacted by staff in the Office of the Clerk as soon as possible and informed of the meeting's date, time and location.

Except by unanimous consent, the names of absent presenters' are dropped to the end of the list. If the presenter is absent when called a second time, that name is removed from the list.

Each presenter is allowed a maximum of 10 minutes to make a presentation, and an additional 5 minutes to respond to questions from Members of the Committee. As an exception, the Chairperson may, with the unanimous consent of the Committee, allow a presenter who has spoken for 10 minutes more time to present and to respond to questions.

Presenters who have prepared a written submission are asked to bring 20 copies to the committee meeting.

The public may watch the proceedings of a Committee meeting in Rooms 254 and/or 255 of the Legislative Building. Both rooms are wheelchair accessible.

Presenters may access committee manuscripts on line by accessing the assembly website at http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/hansard/index.html or by viewing copies at the Legislative Library.

Registration alone does not indicate whether a presenter approves or disapproves of a proposed Bill.

Once a Committee considers a Bill, the Chairperson reports all findings to the House. This is followed by the Report Stage, Concurrence and Third Reading, and Royal Assent.