Though the current session of Parliament has been up and running for a few weeks — and has even had a break week — it wasn’t until this week that the Committees of the House of Commons really got to work.
House of Commons Committees do important work. They examine and make recommendations to government legislation; they study important issues; and are often the forum for some of the best political debates on the Hill.
For each committee, the Chair plays a key and often influential role. Indeed, in the last session of Parliament, we learned that the Conservatives had issued a “playbook” to help their Chairs guide the work of the Committee towards the government’s preferred outcome. Chairs receive an extra $10,700 a year on top of their MPs salary of $150,800 a year.
So, without further ado then, here is the list of all the committees and their chairs:
Committees where the Government (the Conservatives) has the chair:
- Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Devlopment – Barry Devolin (Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock)
- Agriculture and Agri-Food – James Bezan (Selkirk-Interlake)
- Canadian Heritage – Gary Schellenberger (Perth-Wellington)
- Citizenship and Immigration – Norman Doyle (St. John’s East)
- Environment and Sustainable Development – Bob Mills (Red Deer)
- Finance – Rob Merrifield (Yellowhead)
- Fisheries and Oceans – Fabian Manning (Avalon)
- Foreign Affairs – Kevin Sorenson (Crowfoot)
- Health – Joy Smith (Kildonan-St. Paul)
- Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities – Dean Allison (Niagara West-Glanbrook)
- Industry – James Rajotte (Edmonton-Leduc)
- International Trade – Lee Richardson (Calgary Centre)
- Justice and Human Rights – Art Hangar (Calgary Northeast)
- National Defence – Rick Casson (Lethbridge)
- Natural Resources – Leon Benoit (Vegreville-Wainwright)
- Official Languages – Steven Blaney (Levis-Bellechasse)
- Procedure and House Affairs – Gary Goodyear (Cambridge)
- Public Safety and National Security – Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton-Melville)
- Transport – Merv Tweed (Brandon-Souris)
- Veterans Affairs – Rob Anders (Calgary West)
Committees where the Official Opposition (the Liberals) have the chair:
- Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics – Paul Szabo (Mississauga South)
- Government Operations and Estimates – Diane Marleau (Sudbury)
- Public Accounts – Shawn Murphy (Charlottetown)
- Status of Women – Yasmin Ratansi (Don Valley East)