Finance Committee on June 15th, 2011

[The Clerk of the Committee, Mrs. Guyanne Desforges]

Honourable members of the committee, I can see a quorum.

I must inform members that the clerk of the committee can only receive motions for the election of the chair. The clerk cannot receive any other type of motion, cannot entertain points of order, nor participate in debate.

We can now proceed to the election of the chair.

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the chair must be a member of the government party. I am ready to receive motions for the chair.

Ms. McLeod.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

I'd like to nominate Mr. Rajotte.

[The Clerk]

It has been moved by Ms. McLeod that Mr. James Rajotte be elected as chair of the committee.

Are there any further motions?

Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt the motion?

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried, and Mr. James Rajotte duly elected chair of the committee.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[The Clerk]

Before inviting Mr. Rajotte to take the chair, if the committee wishes, we will now proceed to the election of the vice-chairs.

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the first vice-chair must be a member of the official opposition.

I am now prepared to receive motions for the first vice-chair.

Ms. Nash.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

I'd like to nominate Hoang Mai.

[The Clerk]

It has been moved by Ms. Nash that Mr. Hoang Mai be elected as first vice-chair of the committee.

Are there any further motions?

Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt the motion?

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried and Mr. Mai duly elected first vice-chair of the committee.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[The Clerk]

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the second vice-chair must be a member of an official party other than the official opposition.

I am now ready to receive a motion for the election of the second vice-chair.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

I nominate Scott Brison.

[The Clerk]

Ms. Sgro has moved to nominate Mr. Brison, in absentia, as the second vice-chair of the committee. Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt the motion?

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried and Mr. Scott Brison duly elected second vice-chair of the committee.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[The Clerk]

I now invite Mr. Rajotte to take the chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for that unanimous endorsement, and congratulations to my two colleagues, the two vice-chairs, on their election as well.

Just before we go to routine proceedings, because it is a new Parliament and there are new members of Parliament around the table, I thought it would be a good idea to just go around the table and introduce ourselves to our fellow committee members very briefly. I know we're all politicians, but could we all be very brief?

I will introduce myself first. I am James Rajotte.

I have been a member of Parliament for 10 years, representing the Edmonton—Leduc riding.

We will begin with Ms. Nash.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Hello, everyone. My name is Peggy Nash.

I am a newly re-elected member of Parliament. I was elected in 2006 and now again in 2011. My riding is Parkdale—High Park.

This is the first time I'm a member of the finance committee. Before, I was the vice-chair of the government operations committee and a member of the industry committee. It's a great pleasure to be here.

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Hello. My name is Hoang Mai. I'm the MP for Brossard—La Prairie, a newly elected vice-chair, and also the national revenue critic for the NDP.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

I'm Wayne Marston, the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek. This is my third term in the House and the first term on this committee. I'm looking forward to working with everybody, even James. I like to add a little humour here and there when I can, and I look forward to working with everybody.

[Alain Giguère, NDP, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Good afternoon, my name is Alain Giguère. I am the newly elected NDP member of Parliament for the Marc-Aurèle-Fortin riding. I'm extremely pleased to be working with all the members of this committee. I will listen to you carefully, and I hope you will do the same for me. That way, together, we may be able to carry out projects in the interest of all Canadians. Thank you.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

I'm Judy Sgro, member of Parliament for York West, which is in Toronto. I am an associate member of the committee, so I will be joining you periodically.

Thank you.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to our committee.

My name is Shelly Glover, and I am the member of Parliament for Saint Boniface, Manitoba. I am also the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance. I am a mother of five. I mention that because I am very proud of it. I am proud of my family and of being a member of Parliament.

Thank you and good luck.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Good afternoon, everyone.

My name is Cathy McLeod, and I'm from the beautiful riding of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo in British Columbia. I have been on the finance committee since February of this year. I'm the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of National Revenue.

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

Hello, everyone. I'm Dave Van Kesteren and I'm the member for Chatham-Kent—Essex, which is Canada's most southern riding. I've been a member since 2006.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Good afternoon. My name is Randy Hoback. I'm the member for the great riding of Prince Albert, home of John G. Diefenbaker and a few other prime ministers.

I also sit on the agriculture committee and I've sat on natural resources. This is my second term.

I'm like Wayne, in that I like to invoke a little humour once in a while. I think that's healthy for a situation when it gets too serious, because sometimes humour breaks the logjam and allows things to move forward. I really look forward to working with each and every one of you here as we move through the budget and other things of concern.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Hello, everyone. My name is Mark Adler.

I was elected on May 2 for the riding of York Centre in Toronto. I am the founder of the Economic Club of Canada and I'm very much looking forward to working with all of you here on the committee.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

My name is Brian Jean. I was elected in 2004, so this is my fourth time. I'm from northern Alberta, Fort McMurray—Athabasca. I'm looking forward to this committee. This is my first time on finance. It'll be fun.