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VULNERABLE148 House of Commons used the unanimous consent procedure to fast- track the adoption of each of the bills, though the procedure to which the parties agreed on each of these subsequent occasions included limited opportunities for debate.28 Charter Statements for each of the bills were tabled on the same day the bills were considered. Study and debate of the bills in the Senate were similarly abbreviated. The Minister of Finance and a Department of Finance official appeared briefly before the Senate sitting as a Committee of the Whole to answer questions about Bills C-13 and C-14, two packages of pri- marily economic measures. The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion attended with a departmental official to answer questions about Bill C-15, legislation designed to provide emergency relief to students, and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and two government officials appeared to discuss Bill C-16, which amended the Canadian  Dairy  Commission  Act.29 On each of these occasions, a number of senators then spoke in support of the Bill at third reading. Things are somewhat more encouraging when we consider the role that parliamentary committees are playing in reviewing the gov- ernment’s response to the pandemic. The Senate and the House of Commons have variously authorized or mandated committees to pro- vide ongoing oversight of the government’s response to COVID-19. As noted above, three different Senate Committees have been or will be pressed into service to study the measures put in place to address the pandemic and the economic crisis it has precipitated. One of these committees is specifically tasked with thinking proactively about how Canada can be better prepared for future public health emergencies.30 On the House side, a motion passed by unanimous consent on April 20 established the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic to sit “while the House stands adjourned.”31 The Committee, which consists of all sitting members of the House of Commons, is currently meeting three times per week and has a broad mandate that includes “considering ministerial announcements,” “allowing members to 28. Hansard 24 March 2020, supra note 24; House of Commons Debates, 43-1, Vol 149, No 34 (20 April 2020) [Hansard 20 April 2020]; House of Commons Debates, 43-1, Vol 149, No 35 (29 April 2020); House of Commons Debates, 43-1, Vol 149, No 36 (13 May 2020). 29. RSC 1985, c C-15. 30. Senate of Canada, “Committees”, supra note 17. 31. Hansard 20 April 2020, supra note 28.