Evidence of meeting #1 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was clerk.
A video is available from Parliament.
11:10 a.m.
The Clerk of the Committee Ms. Erica Pereira
Welcome, members.
Honourable members of the committee, I see a quorum.
I must inform members that the clerk of the committee may only receive motions for the election of chair. The clerk cannot receive other types of motions and cannot entertain points of order or participate in debate.
So 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'm ready to receive motions for the position of chair.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
11:10 a.m.
The Clerk
Thank you, Mr. Sarai.
It has been moved by MP Sarai that MP Spengemann be elected chair of the committee.
Are there any further motions?
(Motion agreed to)
I invite you to take the chair, Mr. Spengemann.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Thank you very much, my dear colleagues.
First, may I thank you for the confidence you have placed in me. I am very honoured to serve you as Chair.
I would like to move immediately to the next order of business on our agenda, which is to proceed with the election of the vice-chairs.
Go ahead, Mr. Chong.
11:10 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
I would like to nominate Mr. Marty Morantz for the position of vice-chair.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
There's a nomination on the floor for Mr. Marty Morantz from the Conservative Party to be vice-chair.
Are there any other nominations for vice-chair?
(Motion agreed to)
I now invite nominations for the position of second vice-chair.
Go ahead, Madame Bendayan.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is a pleasure to see you taking the chair.
I nominate Stéphane Bergeron for the position of second vice-chair of the committee.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Ms. Bendayan moves that Stéphane Bergeron be elected as the committee's second vice-chair.
Are there any other nominations for the second vice-chair of the committee?
(Motion agreed to)
Congratulations, Mr. Bergeron. I am happy to see you elected to the position of second vice-chair of the committee.
Colleagues, now that we have elected our vice-chairs, we are now officially at meeting number one of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.
Welcome to the committee.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format pursuant to the House of Commons order of November 25, 2021.
Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application.
Regarding the speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do the best we can to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members, whether they are participating virtually or in person.
I would like to take the opportunity to remind all participants to this meeting that taking screenshots or taking photos of your screen is not permitted.
The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website.
Given the ongoing pandemic situation and in light of the recommendations from public health authorities, as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy of October 19, 2021, to remain healthy and safe, the following procedures are recommended for all those attending the meeting in person.
First, anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 should participate by Zoom and not attend the meeting in person.
Everyone must maintain a two-metre physical distance, whether seated or standing.
Everyone must wear a non-medical mask when circulating in the room.
It is recommended in the strongest possible terms that members wear their masks at all times, including when seated. Non-medical masks, which provide better clarity over cloth masks, are available in the room.
Everyone present must maintain proper hand hygiene by using the hand sanitizer at the room entrance.
Committee rooms are cleaned before and after each meeting. To maintain this, everyone is encouraged to clean surfaces such as the desk, chair and microphone with the provided disinfectant wipes when vacating or taking a seat.
As the chair, I'll be enforcing these measures for the duration of the meeting, and I thank members in advance for their co-operation.
We will now proceed to our items of business. The first of these is the set of routine motions. They've been circulated by the clerk and members should have them available in both languages.
I would like to ask now that Dr. Fry take us through the routine motions as they are in front of you.
Go ahead, Ms. McPherson.
11:15 a.m.
NDP
Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
I'm sorry. I have two additional routine motions I'd like to propose, so could you just let me know when that would happen?
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
We will deal with those after we've gone through the customary set of routine motions.
Dr. Fry, I will give you the floor to take us through the first routine motion, which deals with analyst services. After that, I will briefly ask you for the floor back, and then we will continue with the remainder of the routine motions.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Thank you very much.
The first motion reads:
That the committee retain, as needed and at the discretion of the Chair, the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Colleagues have the motion in front of them as proposed by Dr. Fry. Is there any discussion on this first routine motion?
(Motion agreed to)
I would now like to take the floor briefly to give the members of our House of Commons team the opportunity to introduce themselves, including our clerk and our analysts.
Madam Clerk, the floor is yours.
11:15 a.m.
The Clerk
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Erica Pereira. I'm the clerk of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. I believe I have worked with each of you in some capacity before, so it is my great pleasure to be here once again.
Thank you.
11:15 a.m.
Some hon. members
Hear, hear!
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Thank you very much, Madam Clerk.
I now give the floor to Ms. Goody.
11:15 a.m.
Allison Goody Committee Researcher
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm very pleased to see all of you again and to meet new faces. My name is Allison Goody. I'm going to be one of your analysts from the Library of Parliament. I've worked on the foreign affairs committee for a number of years, and I'm looking forward to it.
Thank you.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Thank you so much, Ms. Goody.
Now the floor goes to Mr. Siekierski, please, for opening remarks.
11:15 a.m.
Billy Joe Siekierski Committee Researcher
Hi, I'm B.J. Siekierski, and I worked with Allison on this committee in the last Parliament.
It is a pleasure to see so many familiar faces again and to be here in person.
I believe most of you are familiar with the work we do, but if you or any of your staff have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Thank you so much.
I would like to thank, in advance, our House of Commons team for their extraordinary service, as we've experienced over previous legislatures, and their experience and tireless commitment to supporting the work of this committee. Included also are our technical staff, our interpreters and anybody else who's lending service to the work of this committee as it goes forward.
Thank you very much.
Dr. Fry, I will give you back the floor to take us through the remainder of the routine motions, please.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Thank you, Chair.
The second motion is:
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of five members; the Chair and one member from each recognized party; and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Dr. Fry, thank you very much.
The motion is before the committee. Is there any discussion on routine motion number two?
(Motion agreed to)
Dr. Fry, thank you very much. The floor is back to you.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
The next motion reads:
That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence published when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four members are present, including two members of the opposition parties and two members of the government party, but when travelling outside the Parliamentary Precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Dr. Fry, thank you very much.
Routine motion number three is before the committee, on meeting without a quorum. Is there any discussion on that motion?
Go ahead, Monsieur Bergeron.
11:15 a.m.
Bloc
Stéphane Bergeron Bloc Montarville, QC
Mr. Chair, I would like to ask a question.
When it says “including two members of the opposition parties”, can that perhaps mean two members of the same opposition party or does it have to be two members from at least two opposition parties?
11:20 a.m.
Liberal
