Evidence of meeting #10 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was trade.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Oh yes, absolutely, they will get in. I guess right now it would be after Easter.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
12:55 p.m.
Bloc
André Bellavance Bloc Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Since we are discussing the schedule, I have a question. According to this schedule, we are going to hear from potato farmers about the golden nematode on March 31st. Is this still so?
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
What the clerk has just handed me here, Mr. Bellavance...it would be right after Easter break. On April 21, which is three weeks from today, it would be Mr. Van Boom and Cecil Goutbeck from Group AMA-Terre. It's a federation of producers, potatoes, I guess.
12:55 p.m.
Bloc
André Bellavance Bloc Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Why can we not have witnesses on March 31st? I proposed this because it is urgent for us to hear from those witnesses. Why do we delay their appearance by a month?
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
I'm going to have to let the clerk speak to that, but they were on here. If you remember, on the original motion that came through, André, there was nematode and a couple of other things that were added on to the end. We still haven't completed the competitiveness part of it, which was in before that. That would be my only comment.
12:55 p.m.
Bloc
André Bellavance Bloc Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
I do not know. Maybe the clerk can explain. Why can these witnesses not be heard? There must be a reason.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
I think I may have just had the reason. On competitiveness and the Competition Act, we're ahead on the schedule, André.
The independent grocers, which is part of the competition and what have you, couldn't come then. They couldn't come?
12:55 p.m.
A voice
They couldn't come.
1 p.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Maybe somebody from Alberta...we were going to have the Alberta producers at a similar time, weren't we?
1 p.m.
A voice
Yes.
1 p.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
There may be a problem in Alberta in April. You guys start on the land a lot earlier than we do in the east. There might be a problem in terms of them being able to get in if they're planting.
If we had to take a competition day, Larry, so that producers could get here.... You know what it's like when spring comes. We don't want to put them in a bad position of having to take a day from getting a crop in the ground to get here. They'd lose two or three days.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Next Tuesday we have replacements coming. We had asked the grocers to come, and it was indicated that they were to be at the meeting, but they couldn't come then. They were replaced with the Canadian Seed Trade Association, the Canola Council of Canada, the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, and Pulse Canada. They were scheduled to be here. They're booked and ready to come.
1 p.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
It isn't going to matter to the Competition Bureau. They don't have to put a crop in the ground.
Maybe the clerk could check with the producers to see if they have difficulty with the later date because of being practically right into seeding. If not, we'd be agreeable. We can hear from the Competition Bureau any time. We definitely want to hear from them, but they don't have a crop to put in.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
We'll try to move the potato nematode witnesses to a week from this Thursday, April 2, and we'll schedule the Competition Bureau right after Easter.
Is that suitable to you, Mr. Bellavance? Is that okay?
1 p.m.
Bloc
André Bellavance Bloc Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
It is the clerk who contacts the producers we want to invite. This is why I wanted an answer, but it seems that your assistant manages the schedule.
I would like all of us to have our say. If I ask the clerk why the date has been changed, I would like her to be able to answer. I do not want to be abrupt with anybody, but I find this strange. I simply wanted to know why they were no longer appearing on March 31st.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
First of all, I think she already said that there was somebody who couldn't come. I've got two different sheets here. They certainly haven't been ignored, André.
If that's suitable, then we can try to change it. I think Wayne has a point that it probably won't matter to the Competition Bureau.
1 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Thank you, Mr. Bellavance.
Mr. Atamanenko, do you want to bring your motion forward or read it officially?
1 p.m.
NDP
Alex Atamanenko NDP British Columbia Southern Interior, BC
Thank you. I am very happy to hear that Brian will support this motion, which reads as follows:
That the Competition Bureau of Canada be ordered to provide the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food at least four days before the Competition Bureau appears before the Committee, copies of any and all studies/briefings and/or analysis and documents pertaining to the approval and/or denial or all sales/mergers/acquisitions of meat slaughter/packing/processing facilities and livestock auction facilities in Canada from the year 2005 to current.
What I would hope that we could get from these guys is at least a final analysis, at least one full package of sales. I think it's really important for us to know what's been going on here. That's the reason for putting this motion forward.