The Senate
Motion Concerning National Finance; Social Affairs, Science and Technology; and Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration Committees--Leave Denied
March 25, 2020
Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I move:
That, notwithstanding rule 12-2(2), any usual practice and the order of February 25, 2020, the Honourable Senators Duncan, Forest, Boehm, Galvez, Klyne, Loffreda, Deacon (Ontario), Mockler, Marshall, Smith, Tannas and Griffin be appointed to serve on the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, replacing the current members, and continue to serve on the committee, subject to any membership changes pursuant to rule 12-5 or decision of the Senate;
That, for greater certainty, the current chair of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, while still a member of the committee, remain chair until the committee decides otherwise;
That the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance be authorized to examine and report on all actions undertaken pursuant to parts 3, 8 and 19 of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act once it receives Royal Assent, as well as the provisions and operations of the act in general;
That, notwithstanding rule 12-2(2) and any usual practice, the Honourable Senators Dasko, Forest-Niesing, Kutcher, Mégie, Moodie, Omidvar, Petitclerc, Manning, Poirier, Seidman, Campbell and Black (Ontario) be appointed to serve on the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, subject to any membership changes pursuant to rule 12-5 or decision of the Senate;
That the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology be authorized to examine and report on the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
That the government be authorized to table with the Clerk of the Senate, following the processes of rule 14-1(6), any report or document relating to its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to actions undertaken pursuant to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act once it receives Royal Assent, as well as the provisions and operations of the act, including any regular report on this subject tabled in the House of Commons, and that the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance and the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology be authorized to consider any such reports or documents for the purposes of the studies authorized by this order;
That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules or usual practices, and taking into account the exceptional circumstances of the current pandemic, for the purposes of the studies authorized by this order, the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance and the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, during any period the Senate is adjourned, have power to meet by videoconference or teleconference, if technically feasible, with both senators and witnesses being allowed to participate in meetings by such means, and with such meetings being considered for all purposes to be meetings of the relevant committee and senators participating in such meetings being considered for all purposes to be present at the meeting;
That, in addition to the conditions set out in the previous paragraph, the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance and the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology also be authorized to hold meetings by videoconference or teleconference for the purpose of an organization meeting pursuant to rule 12-13 or to elect a chair, subject to the terms of the previous paragraph of this order;
That, notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph five of the order of March 11, 2020, allowing certain members of a Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure to direct the convening of a meeting of a committee, in the case of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance and the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, the terms of that paragraph also apply so as to allow the members of their respective Subcommittees on Agenda and Procedure, other than the chair, to direct the convening of a meeting of the relevant committee for the purposes of its study pursuant to this order, and, if such a request is made during a period that the Senate is adjourned, the meeting be convened at the earlier of the time provided for in that paragraph or, if technically feasible, noon on the third day during the period from Monday to Friday after the clerk of the committee receives the letter;
That, for the purpose of studies authorized by this order, the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance and the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology have the power to meet, even though the Senate may then be sitting or adjourned, and that rules 12-18(1) and 12-18(2) be suspended in relation thereto;
That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules or usual practices, and taking into account the exceptional circumstances of the current pandemic, the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, during any period the Senate is adjourned, have power to meet by videoconference or teleconference, if technically feasible, with both senators and witnesses being allowed to participate in meetings by such means, and with such meetings being considered for all purposes to be meetings of the committee and senators participating in such meetings being considered for all purposes to be present at the meeting;
That Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration have the power to meet, even though the Senate may then be sitting or adjourned, and that rules 12-18(1) and 12-18(2) be suspended in relation thereto; and
That the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance and the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate, any reports on studies authorized by this order, if the Senate is not then sitting, with the reports then being deemed to have been tabled or presented in the Chamber.
The Hon. the Acting Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?
Some Hon. Senators: No.
The Hon. the Acting Speaker: Leave is not granted.