Evidence of meeting #1 for International Trade in the 41st 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.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
It sounds like if it's by 4 o'clock of the previous day we're good.
NDP
Mathieu Ravignat NDP Pontiac, QC
That's fine.
It's just to make sure that the motion that was read out by Mr. Cannon did include “in both official languages”. Why you didn't speak to it—
Conservative
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
To the members, via the clerk, in both official languages.
Conservative
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
That's two sleeps, 4 p.m.
Have we got it?
(Motion agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
This is from the last one. I don't know if we need this one or not. It was part of the procedures, I believe, at the last committee in the last Parliament: priority of legislation.
Mr. Easter.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Mr. Chair, on that, it is standard procedure that government legislation takes priority anyway. I don't think the committee needs a motion to that effect. That is just the reality of the world, although we might disagree. Government legislation has to take priority. It just has to.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
Okay, let's leave it.
There is one more thing I want to talk to the committee about, something that came up with regard to the last Parliament.
There was a sort of half official invitation from the Australian government, the high commissioner, for a potential trip to Australia. Is that something we would...? I don't know what to do with the letter, in a sense. We could pursue it. They have left a series of dates that would be optimal.
The Clerk
We could distribute that after the meeting, to be translated, if the members want to consider it.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
We could do that. It is either pursue it or kill it, one or the other, and pursuing it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen, but we could work along that line.
Mr. Easter.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
What was the purpose of the trip to be?
I have an issue I want to raise as well. You probably have to adjourn the meeting, but what was to be the purpose of the trip to Australia?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
In the letter they say they could actually fill up the schedule in Australia and look after the costs for the committee in Australia and set up what I guess is a relationship between their equivalent committees and ours. It is a link between parliamentarians, and on—
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
We'd be talking about international trade. We'd be talking to the Senate committee as well as the House committee there. That is what their intent is, but the only way they could do it and pick up the costs in Australia would be if it were seen as an official trip, so we'd have to get clearance from the Speaker to see it as an official trip.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
Yes, there are those two things. That's what I said. Either we just nix it or we pursue it, one or the other.
Mr. Chisholm.
NDP
Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have a couple of points. One is that certainly Australia has made some changes to its trade template and to how it is going about it. I am finding it interesting to look at the way it is beginning to approach trade and has been approaching trade of late.
I don't know what discussion there has been about what is going to happen this fall, but is this timely? Is there something coming up with respect to the relationship with Australia that we should know about, that would make this something we should deal with right away?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
Yes, before we get into the nuts and bolts of it and debate on it that way, all I was looking for today was either that we flesh it out and talk about it in the fall and determine whether or not it is something that's appropriate or we just say thanks but no thanks.
Mr. Keddy.
Conservative
Gerald Keddy Conservative South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS
Just as a little background for the new committee members, this comes out of a meeting we had last year with the trade committee and the High Commissioner of Australia. He put the invitation forth to the committee as a whole and the committee chair. The intent here would be to strengthen relations between Canada and Australia, and Australia is a major player in that Pacific forum. It would be important.
The other issue that I will end on is that this trip takes a lot of planning and a lot of work. Obviously, if we have government legislation before committee, that could nix it, but we have to give the chair time to explore it and put it together, if it's possible to do.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
I do think, given that the kind of trading relationship Australia has with the rest of the world differs from ours, it is at least useful to pursue and for the chair to come back with at least a proposal that's fairly concrete, which we can vote up or down.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
I am seeing consensus to initially pursue this. Is that agreed?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
Fair enough.
Very good. Other than that, I don't see anything else on our agenda.
