Fisheries Committee on Feb. 20th, 2020

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Chair, I propose:

That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the Committee only when the documents are available in both official languages and that witnesses be advised accordingly.

(Motion agreed to)

Mr. Chair, I propose:

That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the Committee and its Subcommittees.

(Motion agreed to)

Mr. Chair, I propose:

That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses not exceeding two (2) representatives per organization; provided that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.

(Motion agreed to)

Mr. Chair, I propose:

That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to have one staff member at an in camera meeting and that one additional person from each House officer's office be allowed to be present.

(Motion agreed to)

Mr. Chair, I propose:

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.

(Motion agreed to)

Mr. Chair, I propose:

That a forty-eight (48) hours notice, interpreted as two (2) nights, shall be required for any substantive motion to be considered by the Committee, unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration, provided that (1) the notice be filed with the Clerk of the Committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; that (2) the motion be distributed to Members 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; and that (3) 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 travelling on official business, no substantive motions maybe moved.

(Motion agreed to)

Mr. Chair, I propose:

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.

(Motion agreed to)

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Mr. Hardie.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Mr. Chair, when the time is appropriate, I would like to file a notice of motion on the following:

That given the decline in pacific salmon stocks and the ongoing situation with Big Bar Landslide, the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans undertake a study on the state of Pacific Salmon and make recommendations on next steps to ensure for the long-term health of these stocks, as well as the commercial, indigenous and recreational fisheries that depend on them, and call witness including senior departmental officials, First Nations, and relevant stakeholder groups to testify before committee.

I move that we adopt that motion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Are you moving it now, or just giving notice that that motion will come forward?

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I'll look to the clerk, but I believe we have to give notice of motion because we haven't had the 48 hours.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

We can deal with it now, because we're in committee business. You can move it now, and you don't have to give notice first.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Then so moved.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Is there any debate?

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Can we suspend for a couple of minutes?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

The meeting is suspended.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Mr. Chair, we came into this meeting on the understanding that we would be giving notice of motion. I appreciate the clerk's advice that the motion could be dealt with right now, but it's not our intention to spring anything on anybody. If time is needed to consider the motion and prepare any comments or amendments that people might want to put forward, we'd be more than happy to present it as a notice of motion at this point and then deal with it at next Tuesday's meeting.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Is everybody okay with that?

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Mr. Morrissey.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Chair, I move notice of the following motion:

The notice of motion states:

That given the potential consequences of seal predation on fish stocks along the East coast and following the government's creation of an Atlantic Seal Science Task Team; that the Standing Committee of Fisheries and Oceans undertake a study on seal predation and their effects on Atlantic fish stocks, primarily off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador and explore the potential for other viable domestic markets for seal products; that the committee strongly consider travel to countries such as Scotland, Norway and Iceland which acted to conserve fish stocks as a result of seal populations; that the chair be empowered to coordinate the necessary witnesses, travel, resources and scheduling to complete this task; that the Committee call witnesses including senior departmental officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and interested stakeholder groups to testify before the Committee; and that the Committee report its conclusions and recommendations to the House of Commons.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Is there any discussion?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

That's a notice of motion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Thanks, Ed.

That will come back on Tuesday as well.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Chair, I have a second notice of motion as well.

The notice of motion reads:

I move that the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans undertake a study to examine the issue of seafood mislabeling and the potential economic, conservation and food safety risks that it poses to Canadian consumers as well as fishers and producers and; that the chair be empowered to coordinate the necessary witnesses, travel, resources and scheduling to complete this task; and that the committee report its conclusions and recommendations to the House of Commons.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

That one will come back on Tuesday as well.

Mr. Fast.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Chair, could I ask members of all parties here at this table to consider the prioritization of these three motions? If they all pass, we have some that have imminency to them, such as the Big Bar slide, and we may be proposing an interim report relating just to the Big Bar slide, because the spring freshet on the Fraser is happening over the next four or five weeks. That is imminent, so we might as well get that part of the study done with an interim report.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Yes. We'll have to wait until Tuesday to see if they pass.

Mr. Johns.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, I move:

That any motion to go in camera should be debatable and amendable, and that the committee may only meet in camera for the following purposes:

(a) to discuss administrative matters of the committee

(b) a draft report

(c) briefings concerning national security

Et que le procès-verbal devrait refléter les résultats de tous les votes pris à huis clos, y compris la manière dont chaque membre a voté lorsqu'un vote par appel nominal est demandé.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Mr. Cormier.

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

I'd like to propose an amendment to point (a), to read “to discuss administrative matters of the committee, including selection and consideration of witnesses”.