Witnesses provide a good opportunity for members of the committee to hear the views of Canadians on any topic the committee might be studying. Most of the witnesses will either be experts in a particular field (including departmental officials) or non-governmental organizations with a particular interest in the matter before the committee or, more rarely, private individuals.

Usually, each organization or individual appearing before the committee submits a brief, which is translated and distributed in advance. At the meeting, they give a short statement outlining the main points they wish to make and this is followed by questions from the members. Any statement that a witness may make at the meeting is protected by the same privileges as those enjoyed by Members of Parliament.

For each study, the committee may decide how long it will spend hearing witnesses, how many witnesses it wishes to hear and which specific witnesses will appear before it. The staff from the Library of Parliament can suggest additional witnesses who might be particularly relevant to the study. Once the committee’s witness list is established, the committee clerk gets in touch with each witness to schedule their appearance.

For reasons of time and expense, witnesses are sometimes heard by videoconference. The committee may, following strict rules, reimburse the travel expenses of witnesses.

Should the committee’s time be limited, or should the study be of particularly broad interest, the committee may also decide to request briefs from groups and individuals who may be unable to appear as witnesses.