An Hon. Senator: Question.

Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.

The Hon. the Speaker: Are honourable senators ready for the question on the motion in amendment?

An Hon. Senator: Question.

The Hon. the Speaker: If you are opposed to the motion, please say “no.”

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I have the honour to inform the Senate that a message has been received from the House of Commons which reads as follows:

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

EXTRACT, —

That,

(a)pursuant to subsection 62(1) of the Emergencies Act, a special joint committee of the Senate and the House of Commons be appointed to review the exercise of powers and the performance of duties and functions pursuant to the declaration of emergency that was in effect from Monday, February 14, 2022, to Wednesday, February 23, 2022, including the provisions as specified in subsections 62(5) and (6) of the act;

(b)the committee be composed of four members of the Senate and seven members of the House of Commons, including three members of the House of Commons from the governing party, two members of the House of Commons from the official opposition, one member from the Bloc Québécois and one member from the New Democratic Party, with three Chairs of which the two House Co-Chairs shall be from the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party and the Senate Co-Chair shall be determined by the Senate;

(c)in addition to the Co-Chairs, the committee shall elect two vice-chairs from the House, of whom the first vice-chair shall be from the governing party and the second vice-chair shall be from the official opposition party;

(d)the House of Commons members be named by their respective whip by depositing with the Clerk of the House the list of their members to serve on the committee no later than the day following the adoption of this order;

(e)the quorum of the committee be seven members whenever a vote, resolution or other decision is taken, so long as both Houses and one member of the governing party in the House, one from the opposition in the House and one member of the Senate are represented, and that the Joint Chairs be authorized to hold meetings, to receive evidence and authorize the printing thereof, whenever five members are present, so long as both Houses and one member of the governing party in the House, one member from the opposition in the House and one member of the Senate are represented;

(f)changes to the membership of the committee, on the part of the House of Commons, be effective immediately after notification by the relevant whip has been filed with the Clerk of the House;

(g)membership substitutions, on the part of the House of Commons, be permitted, if required, in the manner provided for in Standing Order 114(2) and may be filed with the clerk of the committee by email, provided that substitutes take the oath of secrecy pursuant to paragraph (h) of this order before participating in proceedings;

(h)pursuant to subsection 62(3) of the act, every member and person employed in the work of the committee, which includes personnel who, in supporting the committee’s work or a committee member’s work, have access to the committee’s proceedings or documents, shall take the oath of secrecy set out in the schedule of the act;

(i)every meeting of the committee held to consider an order or regulation referred to it pursuant to subsection 61(2) of the act shall be held in camera pursuant to subsection 62(4) of the act, and that the evidence and documents received by the committee related to these meetings shall not be made public;

(j)Co-Chairs shall have the ability to fully participate, including to move motions and to vote on all items before the committee, and any vote resulting in a tie vote shall mean that the item is negatived;

(k)all documents deposited pursuant to the act shall be referred to the committee, and documents referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights since February 16, 2022, in accordance with this act be instead referred to this special joint committee;

(l)until the committee ceases to exist or Thursday, June 23, 2022, whichever is earlier,

(i)where applicable, the provisions contained in paragraph (r) of the order adopted on Thursday, November 25, 2021, except for those listed in subparagraphs (r)(iii), (iv) and (vi), shall apply to the committee, and the committee shall hold meetings in person only should this be necessary to consider any matter referred to it pursuant to subsection 61(2) of the act,

(ii)members, senators, and departmental and parliamentary officials appearing as witnesses before the committee may do so in person, as may any witness appearing with respect to any matter referred to it pursuant to subsection 61(2) of the act,

(iii)when more than one motion is proposed for the election of the House vice-chairs, any motion received after the initial one shall be taken as a notice of motion and such motions shall be put to the committee seriatim until one is adopted;

(m)the committee have the power to:

(i)sit during sittings and adjournments of the House,

(ii)report from time to time, including pursuant to the provisions included in subsection 62(6) of the act, to send for persons, papers and records, and to print such papers and evidence as may be ordered by the committee,

(iii)retain the services of expert, professional, technical and clerical staff, including legal counsel,

(iv)appoint, from among its members such subcommittees as may be deemed appropriate and to delegate to such subcommittees, all or any of its powers, except the power to report to the Senate and House of Commons,

(v)authorize video and audio broadcasting of any or all of its public proceedings and that they be made available to the public via the Parliament of Canada’s websites; and

That a message be sent to the Senate requesting that House to unite with this House for the above purpose and to select, if the Senate deems advisable, members to act on the proposed special joint committee.

ATTEST

Charles Robert

The Clerk of the House of Commons

(1430)

The Hon. the Speaker: I hear a “no.”

Motion is defeated. On debate.

I see two senators rising now.

And two honourable senators having risen:

The Hon. the Speaker: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Plett, seconded by the Honourable Senator Seidman, that further debate be adjourned to the next sitting of the Senate.

Any honourable senators who are opposed to the motion will please say “no.”

Senator Plett: One hour.

Some Hon. Senators: No.

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

Hon. Jane Cordy: No, I don’t, thank you Speaker. I think I answered most of the questions that could have possibly been asked on the eight-line bill.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, the time for Question Period has expired. I’m sure all senators would like to join me in thanking Minister Guilbeault for being with us today. We look forward to seeing you again sometime in the near future, minister. Thank you.

The Hon. the Speaker: You make a good point Senator Moncion, but we had not moved on to the other item, and there was some confusion as to what was happening, so I reverted back and recognized the two senators standing to be fair to what was going on. There was obviously confusion. You make a good point, and it would have been far more difficult for me to make that adjustment had we moved on. Thank you for raising that.

(Pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on December 7, 2021, to receive a Minister of the Crown, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, P.C., M.P., Minister of Environment and Climate Change, appeared before honourable senators during Question Period.)

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on December 7, 2021, Question Period will begin at 3 p.m.

Senator Gold: Would the senator take a question.

The Hon. the Speaker: Point taken. I will take that under advisement. I don’t think there is any need to make a ruling on it. Thank you for raising it. Senator Moncion, did you have anything else?

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