Agriculture Committee on April 11th, 2016

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. Seppey.

Those were the last questions for the representatives of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

We now shall conclude this portion of our committee meeting.

I want to thank Mr. Seppey and Mr. Landreville for all the information you have provided to us today. It was very informative, and I'm sure we'll have a chance to talk again.

We'll have a break of two to three minutes; then we'll be back with committee business.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

We will reconvene.

I must remind you that we are not in camera, but in public session.

We have some important issues of committee business to discuss. The committee needs to determine the schedule for May and June to decide on future business to be undertaken by the committee.

Some of the questions would include whether the committee wants to table a report on the TPP before summer. If we do, the time frame is very tight, so we'll need to plan meetings for the draft instructions to the analysts and for consideration of the draft report.

I guess that would be the first question we need to answer, if we want to table a report to the House before we end in June.

Mr. Warkentin.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

I appreciate your diligence in terms of working through the schedule. I know that while the summer seems like it's a far distance away, it's actually a lot closer when you look at the number of meeting dates. I think it would be absolutely essential, if we're going to do this, that we get a report or something back to the government and to the House by the time the summer break comes. I would definitely be in support of everything that we need to do in order to make that happen, so we can table something in the House prior to the summer break.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Monsieur Drouin.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

If the committee recalls, the last time the minister was here he mentioned Growing Forward, the new program that would be launched at some point. I think the department, if I recall, made a comment that they would be launching consultations in 2017. If my memory serves me right, the last committee had 24 meetings on the Growing Forward 2 strategy. I want to put that down in the pipe so we have enough lead time, because summer's coming close. After that there won't be a lot of time to study the new Growing Forward program, and for us to make a report on this. I want to put in there as well, if we're going to write a report on TPP, we do should it as quickly as possible. Then I would suggest we get on with the new Growing Forward consultations for the committee, if you agree.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Ms. Brosseau, go ahead.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

We've done studies on trade deals before. We did CETA. I'm not opposed to doing a study on the TPP, but I know that on Wednesday we're going to do a day, two hours, on grain transport and the Emerson report. I really think that's an important issue, and I know you met with some people today. I meet with them quite often. Bev and I were on the committee when we were dealing with the grain transportation crisis and we did study the bill at committee.

There are a lot of provisions that need to be looked at and maybe not be sunsetted. They are going to be up, I think, in August or July. I think this is a huge, huge issue, and it's a complicated issue. You need to know interswitching. There are a lot of groups that are on the same page, but I think we need to take care of the grain transport more than we need to delve into the TPP. I've nothing against the TPP, but we have to move on grain transport. If we don't do it in the next two weeks, we won't be able to have it, and then we're going to miss the boat and these things are just going to fall into water.

From what I understand, if we do a study and we have witnesses come, and I know a lot of different groups are writing to the ministers responsible, the ministers are going to hopefully maybe make a decision and that can be done through an order in council, but I really would press the importance of dealing with grain transport and the Emerson report here at the agriculture committee before we do the TPP.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

To add to what you're saying, Madam Brosseau. I spoke with the transportation chair this morning. One of the suggestions was that we could form two subcommittees and meet in the next couple of weeks for maybe three or four meetings to speed that up. I know everybody's busy.

I also met with the oat producers this morning and some of the canola and all of the other grains.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

I completely agree. It's important that we move on this, but I don't know how that would work, two subcommittees. Would that be members of Parliament from this committee meeting with trade—

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

That's right, if we could identify three or four members from this committee representing the committee as a whole.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Should we table a motion to strike a subcommittee? I'd be willing to do that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

We'll look at the logistics of it first. It's something that only came up this morning so I just wanted to add it into the discussion.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Can we ask the clerk what process must be followed to create a subcommittee? I would like us to go ahead with that proposal.

Can you explain to us what the process consists of?

[The Clerk of the Committee, Mr. David Chandonnet]

We're looking into it. I'll try to come with an answer for Wednesday.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

But can that be done with a motion from...?

[The Clerk]

Yes, that would be brought forward with a motion.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

So if I were to put forward a motion that we strike a subcommittee composed of members from ag and transport, is that possible?

[The Clerk]

That's what we need to look into.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

So Wednesday we will bring some more information as to how the whole thing would work, and then if it's the choice of the committee to strike such a subcommittee—

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Would we be able to talk about that when we come back on the 13th, before we start committee?

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Yes, we have a second hour that we don't have a witness.

Mr. Longfield.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

I think we have a few topics where we have multiple committees looking at the same issue, and the TPP would be one. The trade people are going to be looking at it. Counting backwards from when the TPP will be on the floor of the House, there is a bit of a question there. Within a two-year period, that's going to be discussed. With something like Growing Forward, there is no other committee that's going to be looking at that. That's going to be ours to look at.

Part of my question to the group is, as we're setting priorities, to look at what are the things that only we will be looking at to make sure they do get looked at in the time that they need to. I think August 17 is what I heard around interswitching. Other things around transport, highways included, affect our ability. They also affect our ability to live up to trade deals we have. The whole priority setting is something we don't get a lot of time to do properly from my brief experience here. I'm glad that Growing Forward 2 was put on the table. There could be other topics that we could be doing reports on. You mentioned the issues around bees and pollinators, insecticides, and the use of herbicides, or whatever. We haven't even discussed whether that would be a priority for us or not.

I'm not going to take too much more time, except to say that if trade is already going across the country doing TPP consultations, do we need to duplicate their work, or could we participate in some other way?

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. Longfield.

Mr. Warkentin.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

We do have to prioritize things, but I think we have a responsibility to not take over the transportation committee's responsibilities or the trade committee's responsibilities. These are two elements, the Emerson report and the trade deal, that have a profound effect on Canadian agriculture. If either of these go bad, agriculture in Canada is in real trouble. We must speak up on both of them. Having said that, we don't need to spend all of our time intervening in this. The trade committee will never do a comprehensive study on Canadian agriculture, and the effects of the TPP, because they've got to look at the deal in its comprehensive form. I think we have a responsibility, and it's important that we hear from the stakeholders. The trade committee would do well to probably follow some of the hearings we have with regard to the TPP and insert some of the testimony. I think it's important that people who think about agriculture, and have been given responsibility to defend agriculture, intervene in the discussions with regards to TPP, but we don't need to do as comprehensive a study as the trade committee. They have the paramount responsibility to make sure they do hearings.

On the CTA, or the response to the Emerson report, I appreciate the fact that this was brought up, because there are some provisions in here that, if they're lapsed, are going to create massive chaos in the transportation sector as it relates to grain transport specifically. I'm not going to presuppose what the outcome of our next meeting might be, but I think I'd put it on everyone's radar that I suspect what we should suggest. Let's hear what the testimony is. I think there should be a recommendation by this committee that if the full and comprehensive study of the CTA is not complete by the time the sunsetting provisions are put into place that there should simply be a response by the government to not allow anything to sunset until there's a replacement, or until the studies have been completed. I understand the government needs some time to look at the entire and comprehensive issues around the CTA, but as it relates to agriculture there are some provisions that expire this summer. Maybe we'll hear differently, but I think we should recommend there should be an inability for these things to sunset until the CTA hearings have been completed. I'm not sure there's a lot of work we need to do. After that, to give supplementary support to the transport minister, there may be things we need to intervene on, but I think as it stands now what we must do is ensure that nothing sunsets without the new comprehensive legislation being there to replace it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Ms. Brosseau.