Standing Committee in Canada

Definition of Standing Committee

Standing Committee meaning or descrpition: committee that is permanent during the existence of an NPO (Source of this concept of Standing Committee: emp.ca/books/409-0).

Definition of Standing Committee by Rand Dyck and Christopher Cochrane (in their book “Canadian Politics: Critical Approaches”) in the context of political science in Canada: A committee of the House of Commons set up semi-permanently and often parallel to a government department.

Standing Committees

Standing committees form a majority of the committees established by the House of Commons. Their authority flows from their large number (24) and the variety of studies entrusted to them, but also from the fact that they return session after session as their existence is entrenched in the Standing Orders.[55] Composed of 11 or 12 Members representing all recognized parties in the House, they play a crucial role in the improvement of legislation and the oversight of government activities.

As the below list shows, their titles and mandates cover every main area of federal government activity, but for a few exceptions. However, they do not match its administrative structure exactly.[56] Standing committees fall into three broad categories: (1) those overseeing one or more federal departments or organizations, (2) those responsible for matters of House and committee administration and procedure, and (3) those with transverse responsibilities that deal with issues affecting the entire government apparatus.[57] The latter are likely to work with other committees in discharging their mandates.

List of Standing and Standing Joint Committees of the House of Commons

• Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development
• Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics
• Agriculture and Agri-Food
• Canadian Heritage
• Citizenship and Immigration
• Environment and Sustainable Development
• Finance
• Fisheries and Oceans
• Foreign Affairs and International Development
• Government Operations and Estimates
• Health
• Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities
• Industry, Science and Technology
• International Trade
• Justice and Human Rights
• National Defence
• Natural Resources
• Official Languages
• Procedure and House Affairs
• Public Accounts
• Public Safety and National Security
• Status of Women
• Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
• Veterans Affairs

The Standing Joint Committees include:

• Library of Parliament
• Scrutiny of Regulations (see the entry on control of regulation for more information)

General Mandate

The Standing Orders set out a general mandate for all standing and standing joint committees, with a few exceptions.[58] They are empowered to study and report to the House on all matters relating to the mandate, management, organization and operation of the departments assigned to them. More specifically, they can review:

• the statute law relating to the departments assigned to them;
• the program and policy objectives of those departments, and the effectiveness of their implementation thereof;
• the immediate, medium and long-term expenditure plans of those departments and the effectiveness of the implementation thereof; and
• an analysis of the relative success of those departments in meeting their objectives.

In addition to this general mandate, other matters are routinely referred by the House to its standing committees: bills, estimates, Order-in-Council appointments, documents tabled in the House pursuant to statute, and specific matters which the House wishes to have studied.[59] In each case, the House chooses the most appropriate committee on the basis of its mandate.

Specific Mandates

The Standing Orders set out specific mandates for some standing committees, on the basis of which they are to study and report to the House:

• The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs deals with, among other matters, the election of Members; the administration of the House and the provision of services and facilities to Members; the effectiveness, management and operations of all operations which are under the joint administration and control of the two Houses, except with regard to the Library of Parliament; the review of the Standing Orders, procedure and practice in the House and its committees;[60] the consideration of business related to private bills; the review of the radio and television broadcasting of the proceedings of the House and its committees; the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons; and the review of the annual report of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner with respect to his or her responsibilities under the Parliament of Canada Act.[61] The Committee also acts as a striking committee, recommending the list of members of all standing and legislative committees, and the Members who represent the House on standing joint committees.[62] It also establishes priority of use of committee rooms,[63] and is involved in designating the items of Private Members’ Business as votable or non-votable.[64]
• The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, among other matters, monitors the implementation of the principles of the federal multiculturalism policy throughout the Government of Canada.[65]
• The Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates has a very broad mandate[66] that includes, among other matters, the review of the effectiveness, management and operation, together with the operational and expenditures plans of the central departments and agencies; the review of estimates for programs delivered by more than one department or agency; the review of the effectiveness, management and operation of activities related to the use of new and emerging information and communication technologies by the government; and the review of the process for consideration of estimates and supply by parliamentary committees.
• The Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities is responsible for, among other matters, proposing, promoting, monitoring and assessing initiatives aimed at the social integration and equality of disabled persons.[67]
• The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights is responsible for, among other matters, the review of reports of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.[68]
• The Standing Committee on Official Languages deals with, among other matters, official languages policies and programs, including reports of the Commissioner of Official Languages.[69] The Committee’s mandate is derived from a legislative provision requiring that a committee of either House or both Houses be specifically charged with review of the administration of the Official Languages Act and the implementation of certain reports presented pursuant to this statute.[70]
• The Standing Committee on Public Accounts deals with, among other matters, the review of the Public Accounts of Canada and all reports of the Auditor General of Canada.[71]
• The Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics reviews, among other matters, the effectiveness, management and operation together with the operational and expenditure plans relating to three Officers of Parliament: the Information Commissioner, the Privacy Commissioner and the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. It also reviews their reports, although in the case of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, the reports concerned relate to his or her responsibilities under the Parliament of Canada Act regarding public office holders and reports tabled pursuant to the Lobbyists Registration Act. In cooperation with other standing committees, the Committee also reviews any bill, federal regulation or Standing Order which impacts upon its main areas of responsibility: access to information, privacy and the ethical standards of public office holders. It may also propose initiatives in these areas and promote, monitor and assess such initiatives.[72]
• The Standing Committee on Finance is empowered to review proposals relating to the government’s budgetary policy.[73]

Source: (Canada) House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition, 2009

Standing Joint Committees

In addition to the standing committees, there are two standing joint committees: one on the Library of Parliament and one on the Scrutiny of Regulations.[74] These are described as “joint” because their membership consists of Members of the House of Commons and Senators. In contrast to standing committees, moreover, the number of members can vary.[75] Struck for each session of Parliament, their status is formalized by statute and confirmed by the Standing Orders of the House of Commons and the Rules of the Senate.[76]

The Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament is charged with the review of the effectiveness, management and operation of the Library of Parliament, which serves both the House of Commons and the Senate.[77]

The mandate of this Committee arises from a statutory provision giving direction and control of the Library to the Speakers of the Senate and the House, with the provision that they are to be assisted by a joint committee.[78] At the beginning of each session, the Committee usually seeks confirmation of its mandate by presenting a report for that purpose to each House, which is usually concurred in.[79]

The Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations[80] is mandated to review and scrutinize statutory instruments.[81] The Committee’s mandate is set out in part in the Standing Orders[82] and in part in the Statute Revision Act and the Statutory Instruments Act.[83] At the beginning of each session, the Committee presents a report relating to its review of the regulatory process, proposing a more detailed mandate. When the report is concurred in by the House of Commons and Senate, this proposed mandate then becomes an order of reference to the Committee for the remainder of the session.[84]

Source: (Canada) House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition, 2009

Resources

See Also

• Politics
• Special Committee
• Political Science
• Parliament
• Parliamentary Privileges
• Statute of Westminster
• Stakeholders
• State of Emergency
• Standing Orders
• Stare Decisis
• Proportional Representation
• Steering Committee
• Readjustment Process

Notes

[55] Standing Order 104(2).

[56] For example, the House has a Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, although no government department has such a name.

[57] The Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is an example of the first category; the Committee on Procedure and House Affairs is an example of the second; and the Committee on Government Operations and Estimates is an example of the third.

[58] Standing Order 108(2). It specifically excludes the two standing joint committees, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics and the Standing Committee on Official Languages. Specific mandates are nevertheless provided for each of these committees (for further information, see the next section entitled “Specific Mandates”). For all other standing committees, any specific mandate is in addition to their general mandate.

[59] For further information, see the section in this chapter entitled “Studies Conducted by Committees”.

[60] Therefore, it is not unusual for the House to refer matters of privilege to the Committee for further study, if the Speaker has found prima facie grounds. For further information, see Chapter 3, “Privileges and Immunities”.

[61] Standing Order 108(3)(a).

[62] Standing Orders 104(1), 107(5) and 114(1). For further information, see the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Membership, Leadership and Staff”.

[63] Standing Order 115(4).

[64] Standing Orders 91.1 and 92. For further information, see Chapter 21, “Private Members’ Business”.

[65] Standing Order 108(3)(b).

[66] Standing Order 108(3)(c). Some 10 specific mandates are assigned to this committee alone.

[67] Standing Order 108(3)(d).

[68] Standing Order 108(3)(e).

[69] Standing Order 108(3)(f).

[70] R.S 1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.), s. 88.

[71] Standing Order 108(3)(g).

[72] Standing Order 108(3)(h).

[73] Standing Order 83.1. This provision, added to the Standing Orders in 1994 (Journals, February 7, 1994, pp. 112‑20, in particular pp. 117, 119‑20), extends the Committee’s mandate to include, in the words used by the Government House Leader in proposing the new standing order, “an annual public consultation on what should be in the next budget” (Debates, February 7, 1994, p. 962).

[74] Standing Order 104(3). Since 1867, there have been three other standing joint committees: on Printing, on the Parliamentary Restaurant and on Official Languages. Reference to the first two is still found in Senate Rule 86(1). Reference to the Standing Joint Committee on Printing was dropped from the Standing Orders in 1986 (Journals, February 6, 1986, pp. 1644‑66, in particular p. 1657; February 13, 1986, p. 1710). While the Standing Orders have never contained a reference to the Standing Joint Committee on the Parliamentary Restaurant, the House began to name members to it in 1909 (Journals, February 10, 1909, p. 69). The last occasion on which members were named to this Committee was during the First Session of the Thirty‑Second Parliament (Journals, May 14, 1980, pp. 168‑70). The Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages ceased to exist at the beginning of the Second Session of the Thirty-Seventh Parliament, when the Senate sent a message announcing that it would no longer be participating in the Committee, and the House accordingly established its own Standing Committee on Official Languages (Journals, October 10, 2002, p. 59; November 7, 2002, pp. 181-2).

[75] For further information, see the section in this chapter entitled “Committee Membership, Leadership and Staff”.

[76] Standing Order 104(3) and Senate Rule 86(1)(a) and (d).

[77] Standing Order 108(4)(a).

[78] Parliament of Canada Act, R.S. 1985, c. P‑1, s. 74(1).

[79] See, for example, the First Report of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament, presented to the House on June 14, 2006 (Journals, p. 277) and concurred in on June 19, 2006 (Journals, p. 296).

[80] For further information on the nature and role of the Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations, see Chapter 17, “Delegated Legislation”.

[81] A statutory instrument is a rule, order, regulation or other regulatory text as defined in s. 2(1) of the Statutory Instruments Act, R.S. 1985, c. S‑22.

[82] Standing Order 108(4)(b).

[83] R.S. 1985, c. S‑20, s. 19(3) and c. S‑22, s. 19.

[84] See, for example, Journals, November 21, 2007, pp. 186-7.

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This entry was last updated: July 8, 2017