Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 4th, 2016

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Angela Crandall]

Honourable members of the committee, I see a quorum.

I must inform you that the clerk of the committee can receive motions only for the election of the chair. The clerk cannot receive other types of motions, entertain points of order or 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 now ready to receive motions for the chair.

Go ahead, Mr. Miller.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I move to appoint Bob Nault as chair.

[The Clerk]

It has been moved by Marc Miller that Bob Nault be elected as the chair of the committee.

Are there any further motions?

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Are there any speeches?

We'll save those for later.

[The Clerk]

Are there any other motions?

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried, and Robert Nault is duly elected as the chair of the committee.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Clerk]

I invite Mr. Nault to take the chair.

[The Chair (Hon. Robert Nault (Kenora, Lib.)), Liberal, Bob Nault]

Colleagues, if the committee is in agreement, I'd invite the clerk to proceed with the election of the vice-chairs, but before we do that, perhaps everybody could just say hello, who they are and where they're from. I always like introductions; it kind of makes me feel as if I'm at home. Why don't we start with Dean, and then go around and say a few words. I don't want long speeches, though, about all the years you've been in Parliament and all the things you've done.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Thanks, Bob.

I'm Dean Allison, member for Niagara West and former chair of the foreign affairs committee, for the last five years.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

I'm Peter Kent, member for Thornhill, former chair of the national defence committee, but it was a pleasure in the last Parliament to participate in a couple of joint sessions with foreign affairs. I'm delighted to be here, although I would have preferred the other side of the table.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

I'm Garnett Genuis, member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. I'm not ordinarily a member of the committee, but I believe I'll be substituting here for most of the month of February, and I look forward to working together with everyone here for that period.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Good afternoon.

My name is Hélène Laverdière, member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie. I had the pleasure of sitting on this committee in the previous Parliament, starting with my election in 2011. I must say I'm a bit sad to see that I am the only woman on this committee, but here we are. It's 2016!

I want to thank Dean Allison for all the work he did in the last Parliament.

[Pam Goldsmith-Jones, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

I am Pam Goldsmith-Jones, member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country. I'm the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

I am Omar Alghabra. I am member of Parliament for Mississauga Centre and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Consular Affairs.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

I am Peter Fragiskatos, MP for London North Centre. I am very much looking forward to getting to know all of you and working with you.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

My name is Marc Miller, member for Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs. Ms. Laverdière, I just want to say that we are all feminists here. So you are in good company.

I also want to thank those who have come to participate in this meeting. I thank them for their commitment.

[Michael Levitt, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

I am Michael Levitt, the member of Parliament for York Centre. I am honoured to serve with such an esteemed group of colleagues from across the Commons.

[Jati Sidhu, Liberal, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

I am Jati Sidhu, member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon. If you're wondering, it's in British Columbia.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

I am Raj Saini, member for Kitchener Centre.

Mr. Kent, there is a seat for you if you ever want to cross over to this side.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Thank you very much to everyone. I very much appreciated that.

I am Bob Nault. I am from the riding of Kenora in northern Ontario.

I'm looking forward to working with all of you on making Canada a better place, and I will enjoy every minute of it in committee. Committees have always been my favourite thing.

Just for those who don't know, I was a member of Parliament from 1988 to 2004. I've sat in every particular role I could find, except they wouldn't let me be Prime Minister or Speaker, but I've tried everything else, so I'm looking forward to this challenge with you.

Again, thank you very much for introducing yourselves.

I'll turn it back to the clerk. Thank you.

Oh, one second...we were just introducing ourselves. Go ahead.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

I am Karina Gould, member of Parliament for Burlington. I am the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Development.

[The Clerk]

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the first vice-chair must be a member of the official opposition. I'm now prepared to receive motions for the position of the first vice-chair.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

I would like to nominate Dean Allison.

[The Clerk]

It has been moved by Peter Kent that Dean Allison be the first vice-chair.

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 Dean Allison duly elected as the first vice-chair.

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the second vice-chair must be a member of an opposition party other than the official opposition. I'm now prepared to receive motions for the second vice-chair.

[Michael Levitt, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

I would like to nominate Hélène Laverdière.