Agriculture Committee on Oct. 19th, 2006

[The Chair, Conservative, Gerry Ritz]

The motion is carried unanimously, and it only took half an hour to get there. Way to go, guys. Good job.

Yes, Mr. Thibault.

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chairman. Just for my clarification and understanding, on the first motion by Wayne, Alex, and André, when you wrapped up you said that we might have to extend the panels because we were limited to those three days. I don't see the motion as limiting. I see the motion as instructing the committee to meet on those questions on those three days, but there is nothing that would preclude the committee, if it decides, to extend the amount of hearings on those matters. It's not a closed-door motion. It instructs the committee to do it for at least those three days.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gerry Ritz]

Right, but at the end of those three meetings we would then have to have another meeting to agree to future business and carry on.

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Yes, that's right.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gerry Ritz]

All right. Just a moment, we're just talking about the logistics of this meeting that we're going to work in here on the potato nematode, André. We'll take the first hour of the Tuesday meeting. Okay? Good. The clerk will then line up the witnesses.

There are 20 or so farms involved, you said, and we'll distill that down to two or three people who will be at the table doing the presentation?

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

We could invite the Fédération des producteurs de pommes de terre du Québec.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gerry Ritz]

Okay, as long as they know that. The clerk will have to know who to contact.

That concludes the public portion of the meeting. We'll now go in camera and begin discussions on the Grain Commission, and we'll suspend as we make those technical adjustments.

Grab a coffee. It's going to be an interesting hour.

[Proceedings continue in camera]