Evidence of meeting #1 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
3:25 p.m.
The Clerk of the Committee Mr. Benoit Jolicoeur
Honourable members of the committee, I now see a quorum.
I must inform members that the clerk of the committee can only receive motions for the election of the chair. The clerk cannot receive other types of motions, cannot entertain points of order nor 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.
3:25 p.m.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Mr. Barlow that Mr. Blois be elected chair of the committee.
Are there any further motions?
(Motion agreed to)
I declare the motion carried and Mr. Blois duly elected chair of the committee.
Congratulations.
3:25 p.m.
Some hon. members
Hear, hear!
3:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kody Blois
It's good to see everyone online. Thank you very much to all members of the committee.
I just want to take this opportunity before we get started. I know that we want to move relatively quickly today.
To all folks on the committee, what I found in my last two years was that we were very collaborative. The folks who sit around this table care about farmers. We care about those ranchers, producers and people who are literally putting food on our tables.
My hope, in sitting in this role, is that we as a committee can continue to do that work. I know that we will all bring our own individual perspectives and our policy positions from our respective parties, but I hope we can do so in a way that is respectful and try to advance the interests of farmers. Let's always have that at the heart of our discussions.
My French is not perfect, but I will try to speak in both official languages when Mr. Lehoux, Mr. Drouin and Mr. Perron are present.
If the committee is in agreement, I invite the clerk to proceed with the election of the vice-chairs.
Seeing general agreement, Mr. Clerk, if you could move forward with that, it would be lovely.
3:25 p.m.
The Clerk
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the first vice-chair must be a member of the official opposition.
I am now prepared to receive motions for the first vice-chair.
Go ahead, Mr. Epp.
3:25 p.m.
Conservative
3:25 p.m.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Mr. Epp that Mr. Barlow be elected as first vice-chair of the committee.
Are there any further motions?
(Motion agreed to)
I declare the motion carried and Mr. Barlow duly elected first vice-chair of the committee.
Congratulations.
3:25 p.m.
Some hon. members
Hear, hear!
3:30 p.m.
The Clerk
Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the second vice–chair must be a member of an opposition party other than the official opposition.
I am now prepared to receive motions for the second vice–chair.
Mr. Drouin, go ahead.
3:30 p.m.
The Clerk
It has been moved by Mr. Drouin that Mr. Perron be elected as second vice-chair of the committee.
Are there any further motions?
Is it the pleasure of the committee members to adopt the motion?
(Motion agreed to)
I declare the motion carried and Mr. Perron duly elected second vice-chair of the committee.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kody Blois
All right, everyone.
Mr. MacGregor, welcome. It's great to see you here.
To all of our folks, welcome to the first meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Mr. Steinley, I'll go over to you.
3:30 p.m.
Conservative
Warren Steinley Conservative Regina—Lewvan, SK
I would like to move for unanimous consent that we proceed through the bells.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kody Blois
Are there any comments on that?
We're happy to continue to move forward.
Thank you, Mr. Steinley.
As we know, today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of November 25, 2021. Members are attending by Zoom, and they're also here physically in this room.
Regarding the speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do the best we can to try to maintain a speaking order by watching the screens and watching all of you here in the room. Please just raise your hand on the screen.
I see Mr. Drouin.
If you'd like to intervene, go ahead, Mr. Drouin.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Mr. Chair, I was going to read some of these routine motions that we need for the committee operate. If you'll provide me with indulgence, and if my committee members will provide me the time, I will read those into the record. If there's no objection, I suggest that we then simply pass one motion as opposed to adopting each individual motion within the routine motions.
Does that make sense?
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kody Blois
Mr. Drouin, I'm happy to do that and to entertain that.
Just so I stay on the good terms with my clerk here beside me, I want to make sure that I remind folks about the COVID situation. Masks are on if you're not speaking. Thank you. I just want to follow proper COVID protocol when we're in this room.
Mr. Drouin, I think you have the floor to move forward.
3:30 p.m.
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Great. The first motion relates to analyst services. I move:
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.
On the subcommittee on agenda and procedure, I move:
That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of five members; the Chair, one member from each recognized party; and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration.
Regarding meeting without a quorum, I move:
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.
On the time for opening remarks and questioning of witnesses, I move:
That witnesses be given five minutes for their opening statement; that whenever possible, witnesses provide the committee with their opening statement 72 hours in advance; that at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six minutes for the first questioner of each party as follows for the first round: Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party.
For the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows: Conservative Party, five minutes; Liberal Party, five minutes; Bloc Québécois, two and a half minutes; New Democratic Party, two and a half minutes; Conservative Party, five minutes; Liberal Party, five minutes.
Regarding document distribution, I move:
That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the committee provided the documents are in both official languages, and that the witnesses be advised accordingly.
On working meals, I move:
That the clerk of the committee, at the discretion of the Chair, be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and its subcommittees.
Regarding the travel, accommodation and living expenses of witnesses, I move:
That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses not exceeding two representatives per organization; and that in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.
On access to in camera meetings, I move:
That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff member at in camera meetings and that one additional person from each House officer’s office be allowed to be present.
On transcripts of in camera meetings, I move:
That one copy of the transcript of each in camera meeting be kept in the committee clerk’s office for consultation by members of the committee or by their staff; and that the analysts assigned to the committee also have access to the in camera transcripts.
Regarding notice of motion, I move:
That a 48-hour notice, interpreted as two nights, be required for any substantive motion to be moved in committee, unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration, provided that: (a) the notice be filed with the clerk of the committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; (b) the motion be distributed to Members and the offices of the whips of each recognized party in both official languages by the clerk on the same day the said notice was transmitted if it was received no later than the deadline hour; (c) notices received after the deadline hour or on non-business days be deemed to have been received during the next business day; and that when the committee is holding meetings outside the Parliamentary Precinct, no substantive motion may be moved.
On orders of reference from the House respecting bills, I move:
That in relation to orders of reference from the House respecting Bills,
(a) The clerk of the committee shall, upon the committee receiving such an order of reference, write to each member who is not a member of a caucus represented on the committee to invite those members to file with the clerk of the committee, in both official languages, any amendments to the bill, which is the subject of the said Order, which they would suggest that the committee consider;
(b) Suggested amendments filed, pursuant to paragraph (a), at least 48 hours prior to the start of clause-by-clause consideration of the bill to which the amendments relate shall be deemed to be proposed during the said consideration, provided that the committee may, by motion, vary this deadline in respect of a given bill; and
c) During the clause-by-clause consideration of a bill, the Chair shall allow a member who filed suggested amendments, pursuant to paragraph (a), an opportunity to make brief representations in support of them.
Regarding technical tests for witnesses, I move:
That the clerk inform each witness who is to appear before the committee that the House administration support team must conduct technical tests to check the connectivity and the equipment used to ensure the best possible sound quality; and that the Chair advise the committee, at the start of each meeting, of any witness who did not perform the required technical tests.
Regarding linguistic review, I move:
That all documents submitted for committee business that do not come from a federal department, members’ offices, or that have not been translated by the Translation Bureau be sent for prior linguistic review by the Translation Bureau before being distributed to members.
That would be it, Mr. Chair.
3:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kody Blois
Well done.
Folks, are we all in agreement with that? Can I seek unanimous consent?
(Motions agreed to)
Thank you, Mr. Drouin.
Mr. Barlow.
3:35 p.m.
Conservative
John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to put forward a motion for, hopefully, a brief discussion.
I have had discussions with all of the parties on this, so I don't suspect this will be a difficult discussion.
My motion reads:
That the committee hold a three-hour meeting by December 22, 2021, to hear one panel on the extreme flooding and landslides in the province of British Columbia for the first hour with the following witnesses: officials from the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food and officials from the Department of Public Safety; and one panel on the interim suspension of certification of all potatoes originating from Prince Edward Island to the United States with the following witnesses: officials from the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Premier of Prince Edward Island and the Minister of Agriculture and Land, and the P.E.I. Potato Board.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The reason I'm putting that motion forward is that these are two of the most significant issues facing Canadian agriculture at this time. We're not asking the minister to be here. It's simply the officials, so that we can get a better understanding of the impact the floods have had on B.C. agriculture and where assistance is needed. We certainly want to see what we can do to help there and to have a better understanding of the probable longer-term consequences.
For the second one.... You were talking, Mr. Chair, about the importance of supporting our farmers. I would like a better understanding on the decision-making process that was behind this ban and certainly what the discussions were with CFIA and the USDA. Was the USDA looking to lift that ban? What are the metrics or the bar that must be met? Are we close? What is the timeline around that?
This one is important, as the chair certainly knows, because the potatoes are perishable. We have until the end of January. That is when they will have to make a very hard decision either to open this market or to start destroying product, which is heartbreaking for those farmers. That is the reason for this motion.
I certainly hope we have everyone's support to do this sometime next week. I know it's a break week, but I do see this as being quite timely and not something we can wait until the end of January or early February to discuss.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kody Blois
Thank you, Mr. Barlow.
Is there discussion?
I see Mr. Turnbull has his hand up.
Mr. Perron, would you like to speak? You had your hand up.
December 16th, 2021 / 3:40 p.m.
Bloc
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
Ryan Turnbull Liberal Whitby, ON
Thank you and congratulations to the chair on his appointment and election.
I am very encouraged to see you up there and guiding us through this committee business.
I don't doubt the gravity of the situation with P.E.I. potatoes and the importance of the topic. I do have some concerns that I need to express based on the timelines. I think we're talking about officials. I haven't seen the motion in writing, but it sounds like we have quite a list of individuals that Mr. Barlow would like to have appear before December 22, which is pretty short notice given that today is the 16th of December. I'm not sure how realistic that is, to be honest. I want to express some concern related to that.
Also, my understanding is that our meetings are normally two hours. Why is it a three-hour meeting, why the short notice and why on December 22?
I would ask Mr. Barlow if he'd be willing to clarify this for the committee. Thank you.
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kody Blois
Yes, you can clarify, Mr. Turnbull.
Also, the clerk has asked me to make sure that you're moving this motion and that it's not a notice of motion. You're formally moving it.
