Evidence of meeting #1 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was steckle.
9:05 a.m.
The Clerk of the Committee Mr. Jean-François Lafleur
Good morning.
Honourable members of the committee, I see a quorum.
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), I'm now ready to receive nominations to elect the chair.
Are there any motions on the floor?
9:05 a.m.
Liberal
9:05 a.m.
The Clerk
Are there any other nominations? Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
I declare Mr. Ritz duly elected Chair of the committee. Congratulations.
Congratulations.
I'm now prepared to receive motions for the first vice-chair of the official opposition.
9:05 a.m.
Conservative
9:05 a.m.
The Clerk
Thank you very much.
Are there any other nominations?
I see none. I declare Mr. Steckle duly elected.
Thank you.
I am now ready to receive nominations for the position of second vice-chair. The prospective candidate must represent a party other than the Official Opposition.
You have the floor, Ms. DeBellefeuille.
9:05 a.m.
The Clerk
We have a motion nominating Mr. Bellavance as second vice-chair. Are there any other nominations? Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
I declare Mr. Bellavance duly elected second vice-chair of the committee. Congratulations.
I now invite Mr. Ritz to take the Chair.
I would like to invite Mr. Ritz to take the chair.
9:05 a.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
I just have a question, and it's really for Mr. Ritz.
There has been a fair bit of discussion in the media, and I did see you quoted as chair of the agriculture committee some two weeks ago in one of the papers. The view was that you were the Prime Minister's pick. I figure I will get it from you, but could we be assured by you that the direction you take will be from the committee and not necessarily out of the Prime Minister's Office?
9:05 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gerry Ritz
I certainly take that direction.
Mr. Easter, as you well know, committees are stand-alone; we're not politically driven. This committee, actually, has been more non-partisan than a lot of other committees that we've all had the opportunity to sit on. I would like to continue in the collegial way that we have operated, and so on. I can assure you of that. As you well know, everything you see in the media is not always factual, and some of the quotes may not be direct.
Thank you for your intervention.
9:05 a.m.
Bloc
André Bellavance Bloc Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Congratulations on your election.
May we move immediately to routine procedural motions for this committee and for the steering committee? I have several comments that I wish to make on the subject.
9:10 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gerry Ritz
Yes, most definitely, Mr. Bellavance. We do have a list of routine motions that we will run through. Feel free to interject at any point, but there is an order that we will work through. Certainly, we will discuss a lot of those issues as we move along.
Is there anyone else before we start into routine proceedings here?
Yes, Mr. Steckle.
9:10 a.m.
Liberal
Paul Steckle Liberal Huron—Bruce, ON
I wonder, Mr. Chair, whether there is available for all of us a circulated document to the effect of the agenda for this morning, or is it just...?
9:10 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gerry Ritz
Well, I actually brought one with me from the international trade committee meeting I sat in on yesterday.
9:10 a.m.
Liberal
Paul Steckle Liberal Huron—Bruce, ON
It's normal procedure that there's usually one for every member at the table.
9:10 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gerry Ritz
Right. We'll have them directly. Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, we'll take a short break while we get some photocopying done to fulfill Mr. Steckle's wishes. If you want to grab a coffee or juice at the back, feel free to do that. It will take us about five minutes.
9:22 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gerry Ritz
Ladies and gentlemen, I call this meeting back to order.
Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentlemen. We have the documents back in front of you. I think you will find they are in order. Understanding that there will be some discussion on two of the motions--the second and the fourth motions on your sheet--I would ask for consensus that we do those last. Let's work our way through the rest of the list and then move into those for the discussion phase.
Is everyone happy with that?
All right. Having seen agreement, I'll start with the first motion, services of an analyst from the Library of Parliament. Would someone care to move that motion? Is there any discussion on it?
Mr. Easter moves the motion.
(Motion agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
9:22 a.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
We just wonder if we should get the same old fellow or not, but we'll see.
9:22 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gerry Ritz
Well, he's pretty darned good. His credentials are there. He's gotten nothing but better, Wayne. It's like fine wine.
J.D., would you care to join us at the table, sir, now that you're back on the payroll?
All right. We will skip the second motion and pick it up at or towards the end of the meeting.
Ladies and gentlemen, we'll move to the third motion, the motion to receive and publish evidence in the absence of a quorum.
Is there any discussion on that motion?
9:22 a.m.
Conservative
Larry Miller Conservative Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
Could we just have a little bit of an explanation from the clerk on what all that might entail?
9:22 a.m.
The Clerk
This motion is just to have a minimum quorum in terms of listening to witnesses. It will require only five members, including one from the opposition, to be present for the meeting to be considered in order. That's basically it.
9:22 a.m.
Conservative
Larry Miller Conservative Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
There wouldn't be any motions or anything allowed because of the lack of quorum; it's just to receive information.
9:22 a.m.
The Clerk
Yes, only for those purposes.
