Editing House of Commons of Canada (section)

=== Committees ===
{{Main|Standing committee (Canada)}}
The Parliament of Canada uses committees for a variety of purposes. Committees consider bills in detail and may make amendments. Other committees scrutinize various Government agencies and ministries.

Potentially, the largest of the Commons committees are the Committees of the Whole, which, as the name suggests, consist of all the members of the House. A Committee of the Whole meets in the Chamber of the House but proceeds under slightly modified rules of debate. (For example, a member may make more than one speech on a motion in a Committee of the Whole, but not during a normal session of the House.) Instead of the speaker, the chair, deputy chair, or assistant deputy chair presides. The House resolves itself into a Committee of the Whole to discuss appropriation bills, and sometimes for other legislation.

The House of Commons also has several standing committees, each of which has responsibility for a particular area of government (for example, finance or transport). These committees oversee the relevant government departments, may hold hearings and collect evidence on governmental operations and review departmental spending plans. Standing committees may also consider and amend bills. Standing committees consist of between sixteen and eighteen members each, and elect their chairs.

Some bills are considered by legislative committees, each of which consists of up to fifteen members. The membership of each legislative committee roughly reflects the strength of the parties in the whole House. A legislative committee is appointed on an ''ad hoc'' basis to study and amend a specific bill. Also, the chair of a legislative committee is not elected by the members of the committee but is instead appointed by the speaker, normally from among the speaker's deputies. Most bills, however, are referred to standing committees rather than legislative committees.

The House may also create ''ad hoc'' committees to study matters other than bills. Such committees are known as special committees. Each such body, like a legislative committee, may consist of no more than fifteen members. Other committees include joint committees, which include both members of the House of Commons and senators; such committees may hold hearings and oversee government, but do not revise legislation.

'''Current committees''': <!-- update when the 45th parliament convenes -->
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* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs|Indigenous and Northern Affairs]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics|Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food|Agriculture and Agri-Food]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage|Canadian Heritage]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration|Citizenship and Immigration]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development|Environment and Sustainable Development]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance|Finance]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans|Fisheries and Oceans]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development|Foreign Affairs and International Development]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates|Government Operations and Estimates]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Health|Health]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities|Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology|Industry, Science and Technology]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade|International Trade]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights|Justice and Human Rights]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Liaison Committee|Liaison Committee]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence|National Defence]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources|Natural Resources]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages|Official Languages]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs|Procedure and House Affairs]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts|Public Accounts]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security|Public Safety and National Security]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women|Status of Women]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities|Transport, Infrastructure and Communities]]
* [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs|Veterans Affairs]]
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'''Former committees''':
* [[Canadian House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform|Electoral Reform]]