Fisheries Committee on Dec. 14th, 2021

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Tina Miller]

Good morning, honourable members.

I'm wondering if we could quickly do a check to ensure that everyone's able to use the interpretation function, because we'll be switching to speaking in French as well at this meeting.

I am now speaking to you in French. Can you all hear the English interpretation?

You're letting me know that it's working. Thank you.

It looks like we're good. I see a quorum.

I must inform members that the clerk of the committee can only receive motions for the election of chair. The clerk cannot receive other types of motions, cannot entertain points of order nor participate in debate.

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

Excuse me, Madam Clerk, I can't see the other committee members in the room. I only see myself on the screen. Is that how it should be?

[The Clerk]

Give me a minute, I will check into that. I'll be right back, Mr. Cormier.

Can we do a room view? We'll change the shot. Okay.

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

Am I the only one attending the meeting virtually, Madam Clerk?

[The Clerk]

Yes.

I'd like to inform all committee members that Mr. Cormier is joining us via the Zoom app this morning.

Can you see us now, Mr. Cormier?

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

Yes, I can see all my colleagues in the room.

Thank you.

[The Clerk]

Perfect.

Let's go back to electing the Chair.

I am ready to receive motions for the election of the chair.

Mr. Hanley.

[Brendan Hanley, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Good morning.

I would like to nominate MP Ken McDonald, please.

[The Clerk]

Thank you.

It has been moved by Mr. Hanley that Mr. McDonald be elected as chair of the committee.

Are there any further motions?

Pursuant to the House order of Nov 25, all questions shall be decided by a recorded vote except those decided unanimously or on division.

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried, and Mr. McDonald duly elected chair of the committee.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Clerk]

I invite Mr. McDonald to take the chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Thank you everyone for that vote of confidence in me as chair. It's great to be back and to see some new members and some recycled ones, I guess, or those who have been here for a while.

To the new members, I say, lean on the people with experience a little bit starting off, and they won't guide you wrong. They'll guide you in the right direction, and you'll get up to speed pretty quickly. Don't sweat it. Don't panic, and we'll try to get through this together, no matter where we are or what we're doing.

I think we have some routine motions we have to go through.

It's my understanding there will be a vice-chair from the Conservative party, and a vice-chair from the Bloc.

I'll ask the clerk to take care of the election of the vice-chairs.

[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.

Mr. Arnold.

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

I would like to nominate MP Rick Perkins as first vice-chair.

[The Clerk]

Thank you.

It has been moved by Mr. Arnold that Mr. Perkins be elected as first vice-chair of the committee.

Are there any further motions?

Is it the consent of the committee to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Clerk]

Thank you. I declare the motion carried and Mr. Perkins duly elected first vice-chair of the committee.

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. Cormier, you have the floor.

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

Madam Clerk, I'd like to nominate Mrs. Caroline Desbiens.

[The Clerk]

Thank you, Mr. Cormier.

It has been moved by Mr. Cormier that Mrs. Desbiens be elected as second vice-chair of the committee.

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried and Mrs. Desbiens duly elected as second vice-chair of the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Thank you, Madam Clerk, and congratulations to our vice-chairs on a well-fought election.

Welcome to meeting number one of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format pursuant to the House order of November 25. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application.

Regarding the speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do the best we can to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members, whether participating virtually or in person.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind all participants to this meeting that screen shots or taking photos of your screen is not permitted.

The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website.

Given the ongoing pandemic situation, in light of the recommendation from public health authorities, as well as the directives of the Board of Internal Economy on October 19 to remain healthy and safe, the following is recommended for all those attending the meeting in person. Anyone with symptoms should participate via Zoom and not attend the meeting in person. Everyone must maintain a two-metre physical distance, whether seated or standing. Everyone must wear a non-medical mask when circulating in the room. It is recommended in the strongest possible terms that members wear their mask at all times, including when seated. Non-medical masks provide better clarity over the cloth masks and are available in the room. Everyone present must maintain proper hand hygiene by using the hand sanitizer at the room entrance. Committee rooms are cleaned before and after each meeting. To maintain this, everyone is encouraged to clean surfaces such as the desk, chair and microphone with the provided disinfectant wipes when vacating or taking a seat.

As the chair, I will be enforcing these measures for the duration of the meeting, and I thank members in advance for their co-operation.

I would now suggest that as to the next order of business the committee proceed to considering our routine motions. In preparation for this, the committee clerk has circulated a list of routine motions that the committee adopted in the last parliamentary session. The committee clerk can also answer any questions about the routine motions that anyone may have.

Ms. Barron.

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Thank you and congratulations, Mr. Chair.

I wanted to quickly take a moment to point out that I put forward a couple of routine motions, and was wondering when a good time might be for me to do that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

That's normally towards the end of the meeting, and just as a reminder, of course, motions have to be available in both official languages and be circulated to members as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

We will entertain motion as we go to the routine motions.

Mr. Hardie.

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

Mr. Chair, I'll move the motion on analyst services.

Are we going to do these one at a time, or shall we just do them as a block?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

I think we have to do them one at a time.