Finance Committee on March 21st, 2024

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Once again, I want to thank you for your dedication and your sacrifice. More importantly, I want to thank your family for their sacrifice and for lending you to Parliament to elevate the debate.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you, Jas.

Now we are going to go to MP Blaikie.

We want to thank the Blaikie family and all those who are here—we're all friends of Daniel's—for being here to hear these kind words for a great member.

Daniel.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Thank you very much, Mr Chair.

Thank you to all my colleagues for those kind words.

I would also like to say a big thank you to my family—my wife, kids and mother, who are here in Ottawa today—on what is a pretty big day, not just for me but for them too.

I really do appreciate all the kind words. I have to say, to the extent that I've worked very hard to be collaborative and to accomplish things with other people, none of that success would have been possible without all the other people I've had the opportunity to work with, so I thank all of you for the times we've been able to get past our disagreements.

Of course, Parliament is a place where people come to disagree, so a certain amount of disagreement is normal, but it can sometimes get in the way of progress and doing the things I think we've been summoned here by Canadians to do. I'm grateful to all of you for the times we've been able to overcome those disagreements, after some of what I hope in the best instances was constructive debate to get to doing the things that really matter.

Thank you to all of you, not just for the kind words but for the collaboration as well.

Thank you very much, Mr. Ste‑Marie, for your kind words and for your efforts.

I could spend time talking about each and every one of you around the table, but we wouldn't have any time left for business, which, of course, is why we're here.

Thanks again, as I said, for the words and for the work. I wish you all the best success, after I've gone, in continuing to do that work and focusing on the things that really matter.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you, Daniel.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Yes, thank you for helping us find that common ground and—

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Now it's on to the filibuster.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

We have to get through some committee business, and we have a short amount of time. The window is small.

MP Baker.

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

I'll be brief.

In our last meeting, I gave notice of a motion. I want to move that motion now. I'll just read it to remind folks:

That in accordance with its motion adopted on January 30th, 2024, the Chair be instructed to schedule meetings for the consideration of Bill C-59, upon the bill’s referral to committee;

That clause-by-clause consideration of the bill start no later than April 30th, 2024, following a total of twenty hours of witness testimony;

That, for the purposes of this study, the Chair be empowered to set up extended meetings and request additional House resources, if necessary.

It's a pretty straightforward motion. We've set out 20 hours of time for a study, which is, I think, a reasonable period of time. We've set a date for clause-by-clause to make sure that we leave a reasonable period of time to do the study, but also so that we get to the business at hand and the other business the committee needs to carry out.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thanks, MP Baker.

I have MP Chambers.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

I want to make sure I get on the record before Rick Perkins comes in to take over for me.

I've been inspired by my friend Daniel Blaikie. I think I might be persuaded to vote for this motion in the spirit of collaboration.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

I'm inspired myself. We have a lot of enlightenment going on here.

MP Blaikie is next.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

There are a couple of things I'd like to propose to improve the motion. I don't have the exact wording necessarily hammered out for an amendment, just couple of principles.

I think we should say “no less than twenty hours” because I think it's better if we're able to do more hours of study. I know we've hit around the 20-hour mark on budget implementation acts in this Parliament, but I think being able to exceed that is better given the size of those bills.

We should exclude from those 20 hours the appearance by the minister and departmental officials. I think we need to make as much room as possible for the voices of Canadian stakeholders in the course of this study. Of course, it's going to be up to the committee to decide. It will be the committee doing the work in this case. I won't be around for it.

Having one-hour panels with a witness from each party would be a good way to do it. With twenty hours, that would mean up to 80 witnesses who are not government officials, which I think gives the committee a lot of room to hear from a wide cross-section of Canadian voices.

Those are the three improvements I would suggest. As I said, I don't have that in writing, but I hope it's clear enough that it's sufficient for the deliberation of the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you for that, MP Blaikie.

I have MP Lawrence next to speak to this.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

I have a brief comment. Conservatives would support all of those ideas.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

MP Baker.

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

We'll support that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

You'll also support that. Okay, the magic is happening. I see unanimous consent for this, so we'll move forward with it. We have agreement.

Did you raise your hand, MP Lawrence?

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

I have a point of order.

As I said, we support all of those in concept, but we would like to see it in writing before we agree to it. Can the clerk do that up quickly?

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

By the end of the meeting, we can get something in writing added to that. In principle, everybody is in agreement. Then, by the end of the meeting, we'll have it in writing.

I have MP Blaikie.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Does that mean, Mr. Chair, that we're suspending debate on that motion until the end of the meeting? There may be an opportunity to, for instance, move that the committee now consider the motion I moved. Then we adjourn the meeting—

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Yes, it's your prerogative to do that right now.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Well, I would so move that we go back to my previous motion, which, for the information of the committee, was as follows:

Given that the Canadian grocery sector made more than $6 billion in profit in 2023 and that millions of Canadians have reported food insecurity in the last year, the Standing Committee on Finance call on the government to immediately take action by implementing an excess profit tax on large grocery companies that would put money back in the people's pocket with a GST rebate and establish a National School Food Program, and that this motion be reported to the House.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

I have one clarification here.

MP Blaikie, you need to ask the committee to resume discussion on this motion. Can you do that?