On motion of Sébastien Lemire, it was agreed, — That Terry Sheehan be elected Chair of the committee.

At 4:32 p.m.,Terry Sheehan took the Chair.

On motion of Jaime Battiste, it was agreed, — That Jamie Schmale be elected First Vice-Chair of the committee.

On motion of Jaime Battiste, it was agreed, — That Sébastien Lemire be elected Second Vice-Chair of the committee.

By unanimous consent, the committee agreed to adopt the following motions severally:

It was agreed, — That the committee retain, as needed and at the discretion of the Chair, the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work..

It was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of four members; the Chair and one member from each recognized party, as designated by each party’s whip; and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration.

It was agreed, — That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence published when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four members are present, including two members of the opposition parties and two members of the government party.

It was agreed, — That, when travelling outside the Parliamentary Precinct: (a) the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of whether quorum is present, (b) no substantive motion may be moved during such meetings.

It was agreed, — That witnesses be given five (5) minutes for their opening statements; that whenever possible, witnesses provide the committee with their opening statements 72 hours in advance; that, at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six (6) minutes for the first questioner of each party as follows:

First Round:

• Conservative Party
• Liberal Party
• Bloc Québécois

For the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows:

• Conservative Party, five (5) minutes
• Liberal Party, five (5) minutes
• Bloc Québécois, two and a half (2.5) minutes
• Conservative Party, five (5) minutes
• Liberal Party, five (5) minutes

It was agreed, — That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the committee and only when the documents are in both official languages; and that all documents submitted to the committee in both official languages, that do not come from a federal department, members’ offices, or that have not been translated by the Translation Bureau, be sent for linguistic review by the Translation Bureau before being distributed to members, and that the witnesses be advised accordingly.

It was agreed, — That the clerk of the committee, at the discretion of the Chair, be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and its subcommittees.

It was agreed, — That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses not exceeding two representatives per organization; and that in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.

It was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff member at in camera meetings and that one additional person from each House officers’ office be allowed to be present; that, during in camera meetings, committee members may be informed by the committee Chair of the MPs who have been designated as substitutes for permanent members, in order to know which MPs are authorized to speak and vote during these committee meetings; that only those who have been recognized and identified as such be authorized to speak, in keeping with the usual agreed rules of order and decorum.

It was agreed, — That one copy of the transcript of each in-camera meeting be securely retained by the committee clerk for consultation by members of the committee or by their staff; and that the analysts assigned to the committee have access to the in-camera transcripts.

It was agreed, — That a 48-hour notice, interpreted as two nights, be required for any substantive motion to be moved in committee , unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration, provided that: (a) the notice be filed with the clerk of the committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, and no later than 2:30 p.m. on Friday; (b) the motion be distributed to Members and the offices of the whips of each recognized party in both official languages by the clerk on the same day the said notice was transmitted if it was received no later than the deadline hour; (c) notices received after the deadline hour or on non-business days be deemed to have been received during the next business day.

It was agreed, — That in relation to orders of reference from the House respecting Bills, (a) The clerk of the committee shall, upon the committee receiving such an order of reference, write to each member who is not a member of a caucus represented on the committee to invite those members to file with the clerk of the committee, in both official languages, any amendments to the bill, which is the subject of the said Order, which they would suggest that the committee consider; (b) Suggested amendments filed, pursuant to paragraph (a), at least 48 hours prior to the start of clause-by-clause consideration of the bill to which the amendments relate shall be deemed to be proposed during the said consideration, provided that the committee may, by motion, vary this deadline in respect of a given bill; and (c) During the clause-by-clause consideration of a bill, the Chair shall allow a member who filed suggested amendments, pursuant to paragraph (a), an opportunity to make brief representations in support of them.

It was agreed, — That the clerk inform each witness who is to appear before the committee that the House Administration support team must conduct technical tests to check the connectivity and the equipment used to ensure the best possible sound quality; and that the Chair advise the committee, at the start of each meeting, of any witness who did not perform the required technical tests.

It was agreed, — That the clerk of the committee be authorized to grant access to the committee's digital binder to the offices of the whips of each recognized party.

It was agreed, — That, during meetings, the Chair, if necessary, uses his prerogative to suspend the meeting to maintain the order and decorum necessary to ensure the application of the House of Commons’ policies on workplace health and safety.

On motion of Jaime Battiste, it was agreed, — That, when the committee resumes, the committee direct the Chair to schedule a session of cultural sensitivity training, such as the Kairos blanket exercise, for all committee members, clerks and staff.

1. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northen Affairs undertake a comprehensive study on how the Government of Canada is fulfilling its legal and constitutional obligation to consult with First Nations, particularly in relation to natural resource development projects, infrastructure development and any project having an impact on the environment and Indigenous peoples’ access to land, water and natural resources that may affect Indigenous rights;
   
   

   That this study examine:

   1. the usual consultation mechanisms, best practices and challenges identified by the communities concerned, Indigenous law experts and federal government representatives;
   2. the impacts and/or encroachments on First Nations’ Aboriginal rights and treaty rights that may arise from legislation aimed at building Canada and implementing projects of national interest; and
   3. the Government of Canada’s interpretation of the concept of free, prior and informed consent and its moral obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
   
   

   That the committee hold a minimum of five hearings and invite witnesses, including First Nations leaders, academics, law practitioners, government representatives and any other persons deemed relevant;

   That the following ministers be invited to testify for one hour each:

   • Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations;
   • Minister of Indigenous Services;
   • Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy;
   • Minister of Environment and Climate Change; and
   • Minister of Transport and Internal Trade.
   
   

   That the committee report its findings to the House of Commons along with recommendations to strengthen the transparency, effectiveness and respectfulness of consultation processes.

2. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on issues related to Indigenous communities that do not have a land base or reserve lands; that the study examine how federal authorities can recognize and expedite processes; that the committee allocate at least four (4) meetings to this study; and that it report its findings and recommendations to the House.
   
   
3. That the committee resume its study on barriers to Indigenous economic development that it undertook during the first session of the 44th Parliament pursuant to the order of reference of Tuesday, November 19, 2024; that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during that study be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session; and that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.