Bill C-18 Committee on Nov. 3rd, 2011

[The Chair, Conservative, Blaine Calkins]

Do we have consent for the mover to withdraw the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Conservative, Blaine Calkins]

(Amendment withdrawn)

Okay, let's move on.

Thank you for the clarification, Mr. Martin.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

[Inaudible--Editor]...question that I asked.

[The Chair, Conservative, Blaine Calkins]

If the motion is no longer before us on the floor because it's been withdrawn by the mover....

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

We weren't on the motion. We're in clause 9.

[The Chair, Conservative, Blaine Calkins]

Sorry. Clause 9?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Blaine Calkins]

Certainly.

Is there anybody here who wishes to answer that?

[Greg Meredith, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

The direction order power is in the act. It's very similar, if not exactly the same, in the bill as compared to the previous act. It enables the minister to provide direction to the board in the manner in which it operates. That's the kind of direction order that's consistent with the Financial Administration Act and the way crown corporations are dealt with.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

For my second question on that, I'm just wondering how much authority the minister does have. We do know, under the previous act, that the minister placed gag orders on the board of directors when they spoke out and fired the chief executive officer. That would still be possible under this bill.

[Greg Meredith]

The members of the board, the directors, are appointed by the Governor in Council and could be removed by the Governor in Council.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

So they sit at the pleasure of the minister, then.

[Greg Meredith]

That's not the language--it says the Governor in Council--but yes.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Blaine Calkins]

You're welcome, Mr. Easter.

Given that there is still time for debate, I don't see anybody else raising a hand to debate. So I shall call the question: shall clause 9 carry?

(Clause 9 agreed to)

That's carried. Moving on to clause 10.... Sorry, it's clause 9.1. My apologies. There is a new clause proposed, clause 9.1. I didn't turn the page; sorry, colleagues.

There's a proposed amendment to add a new clause. This is a government motion.

Is there anybody who wishes to move that?

Mr. Hoback?

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Thank you, Chair.

Before I move the amendment, I was going to seek some advice on it.

The goal behind the amendment I'm proposing here is to make sure the new entity has the ability to market any grains it sees fit. But by doing that, does it contravene the existing act? If you could give me a legal opinion on that, I'd just take some comfort in that.

[Ryan Rempel, Legal Counsel, Legal Services, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada]

No. The difficulty in the existing act that this deals with is that subsection 18(2) of the existing act would prohibit the corporation from buying anything other than wheat and barley. What this does is provide an exception to that prohibition, so it can agree to buy any of the seven grains listed in the definition in the preliminary period before the coming into force of part 2.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

And that buying would be, of course, after the new crop year is started in 2012, right?

[Ryan Rempel]

That's right, yes.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

And then it would put the new entity on the same footing as everybody else in the marketplace. Would that be correct to say?

[Ryan Rempel]

Yes. In a sense, it corresponds to the section in the bill that allows others to forward-contract in wheat and barley. So just as others are able to forward-contract in wheat and barley, the Wheat Board can forward-contract in such things as canola or others of the seven grains.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

In light of that, Chair, I now move the amendment.

[The Chair, Conservative, Blaine Calkins]

Thank you, Mr. Hoback. We have that amendment on the floor.

Mr. Easter.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

I have a question for Mr. Rempel.

Would he, for the record, list the seven grains he's talking about that would be affected here?