Procedure and House Affairs

The committee dealt with two main items: a Bloc Québécois motion to study failures and breaches during the 45th general election, and a Conservative motion on foreign interference. On the election study, Tim Louis moved an amendment to add “and interpretation” to the scope of the study and to limit witness blocks to four meetings. Members discussed scheduling, with Christine Normandin proposing that party representatives be heard first, possibly on Tuesday or Thursday of the following week. The chair suggested the clerk attempt to schedule party witnesses for those days, with witness lists to be submitted by the next day.

On the foreign interference motion, Michael Cooper moved that the committee compile testimony and documentation from three previous studies—on foreign electoral interference, a question of privilege involving a member, and a question of privilege on cyber-attacks—over the summer, then meet in the fall to decide on further work. Ben Carr questioned the need for a compilation, arguing that existing records were accessible, including in camera testimony with member approval. The clerk confirmed that summaries of the earlier studies already existed. Élisabeth Brière argued that the topic had been thoroughly studied and that a summary could be provided without redoing the work.

The committee did not vote on either motion. It left unresolved the scheduling of witnesses for the election study and the adoption of the foreign interference motion, though members expressed general agreement on providing a summary of past work.