Agriculture Committee on Jan. 27th, 2026

[Steven Bonk, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

I move:

That, notwithstanding the usual practices of the committee concerning access to and distribution of documents,

a. up to three associate members of the committee per party be authorized to receive the notices of meetings and notices of motion and be granted access to the digital binder;

b. that the associate members be designated by the offices of the whips of each recognized party and sent to the committee clerk; and

c. that the provisions of this motion expire as of September 25, 2026, unless otherwise ordered.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

It's pretty straightforward. Is there any discussion?

(Motion agreed to)

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Okay. In regard to the election of the vice-chair, I'm going to turn it over to the clerk.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

I could put my name forward, but that never looks good.

[The Clerk of the Committee, Wassim Bouanani]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The 13th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, adopted by the House today, Tuesday, January 27, amends the membership of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. Therefore, the committee must select a new second vice-chair. 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.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Do we have lots of nominations for a candidate?

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac—Kitigan Zibi, QC]

I nominate Mr. Sébastien Lemire as second vice-chair.

[The Clerk]

It is moved by Mrs. Chatel that Mr. Lemire be elected second vice-chair of the committee. Are there any further motions? No? Okay.

Does the committee wish to adopt the motion?

(Motion agreed to)

[The Clerk]

I declare the motion carried and Mr. Lemire duly elected second vice-chair of the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

It's a landslide!

I have one last item in regard to our next meeting. The motion that was passed by Sophie, that's not for the next meeting, is it?

[A voice]

No.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Is it for February 12?

[A voice]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

As we know, this Thursday there is no meeting. We'll be meeting next Tuesday. We can continue with the study we currently have. What's the will of the committee? We don't have anything, officially, that we've agreed upon. Do we just continue?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

We will need witnesses if we continue with pork and beef. Please submit them. We'll pick a deadline for submissions. What would you recommend as a deadline? Is it by end of day tomorrow?

Go ahead.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac—Kitigan Zibi, QC]

I know that the motion calls for a minimum of three meetings, but should we keep the minimum number of meetings to three, given the other priorities that were just added? We can talk about it at the next meeting and decide if we need a third meeting or if we're moving on to a different study.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

It's the will of the committee. The question is, do we need three meetings for this study?

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac—Kitigan Zibi, QC]

I invite committee members to think about it and we'll revisit it at the next meeting, if necessary.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

That's an excellent recommendation.

Do I have the will of the committee to adjourn the meeting?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

The deadline for the witness list is tomorrow by 5 p.m. Is everyone good with that?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

The meeting is adjourned.