Despite the chair’s complaint that opposition MPs were trying to “point of order the meeting to death,” a special committee studying the Building Canada Strong Act agreed on an amended motion at its first meeting.

The committee was created Thursday, after Bill C-39 passed second reading in the House. Chair James Maloney apologized for scheduling the meeting early on a Friday, but said the alternative was meeting during the House’s week-long Thanksgiving break.

Conservative MPs, and the lone Bloc Québécois MP, quickly agreed with the Liberals on routine motions, but sticking points emerged as the committee worked to establish timelines and a preliminary witness list.

READ MORE: Senate to form special committee to study Carney’s major projects, labour bill

The creation of a special legislative committee is an unusual tool that bypasses the existing standing committee system. A legislative committee can only examine the bill that triggered its creation, with no tangents, fact-finding missions or opposition-initiated investigations, although members can put forward amendments. This format will make it harder for opposition MPs to delay proceedings by trying to focus on other business.

Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said it was necessary to have a committee devoted exclusively to Bill C-39, which the Liberals have described as one of the most consequential bills their government has introduced.

The bill proposes a suite of measures, including a one-year limit for federal decisions on major projects once applications are complete, a framework for cabinet to designate “regions of national interest” where eligible projects could be effectively pre-approved, and changes to the Canada Labour Code that add a special mediator’s report and a national interest test to the labour minister’s existing power to end strikes and lockouts in federally regulated industries.

Bill to reach clause-by-clause stage by mid-November

Liberal members initially signalled they would rather avoid fixed deadlines to keep more flexibility.

A motion was presented to have a witness list finalized by Thursday, with proposed amendments submitted by Oct. 29 and a clause by clause review beginning on the week of Nov. 2.

Bloc Québécois MP Gabriel Ste-Marie pushed back, arguing that these “deadlines are coming fast, it’s already October,” and proposed pushing everything back by a week.

“I’ve sat on the finance committe,” he said. “When there was a budget implementation bill, which was very big and very complex, and we went through it too quickly, often organizations and civil society became aware of the problems too late and it caused problems.”

Conservatives were generally supportive of an aggressive timeline, as long as they had “proper scrutiny” of ministers, and weren’t initially on board with the Bloc’s proposal.

The Liberals confirmed the ministers leading the legislation – Steven MacKinnon, Patty Hadju, and Dominic LeBlanc – were available to appear before the committee on the week of October 19.
Conservatives pushed to have Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin appear as well, arguing a third of the proposed legislation relates to her portfolio.

READ MORE: Bill C-39 heads to special committee with Conservatives’ backing

There was debate about whether she should be part of the preliminary list or the final list, pending her availability.

Liberal MP Caroline Desrochers expressed “disappointment” with her opposition colleagues, saying “ministers responsible for tabling the bill are already involved, and now, we’re getting lost in the details, we’re getting lost in procedural maneuvers to slow down the committee’s work.”

The committee ended up adopting an amended motion stating MacKinnon, Dabrusin, Hadju and LeBlanc will all be invited to appear.

The list of witnesses will be finalized by Thursday, Oct. 15, with proposed amendments to the bill needing to be submitted by Nov. 4.

Clause-by-clause consideration of the bill is set to begin the week of Nov. 16, after the Bloc Québécois pushed to change the wording so the date wouldn’t be treated as a deadline.

NDP Parliamentary Leader Don Davies held a press conference Friday to protest the speed at which the committee is studying the bill, saying more time is needed for witnesses and for debate.