International Trade Committee on June 23rd, 2011

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Chair, it's not on the agenda, and I know we're only looking at the election officers, but we have a bit of a dilemma with the CETA. The next-to-final round of negotiations could be in July.

The European Parliament demands that negotiators keep Parliament informed. That's not the case here...and again, the consent of Parliament. I do think that we may need to, even as a committee....

Now, certainly four opposition members could write a letter to the chair and ask for a meeting, but I think we ought to seriously consider a meeting to find out where these negotiations are really at on CETA sometime this summer.

There are a lot of implications here. There's the additional pharmaceutical costs to Canada if we go with the European pharmaceutical approach; $2.8 billion it would cost our health care system or insurance companies or whatever. There is the issue of supply management. There is the issue of procurement.

Those are the pretty serious issues that I see, and I think the committee has a responsibility to delve into those issues and try to find out what they are. We need to know what's on the table.

I think July 11 to 15 is the last round in Brussels, Gerald, is it not? Or is the next round in Brussels--

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

I don't think it will be the last round, but....

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Why don't we leave that now? I mean, there is a mechanism to do it if you sense that there's a need for it, so let's just leave it. You've flagged it. Let's see where it goes.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Okay, because it takes....

To the clerk, it takes four members to request a meeting, is that correct?

[The Clerk]

It's under Standing Order 106(4).

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Yes.

So we have the tools there.

Go ahead, Mr. Chisholm.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Thank you.

I don't know that you've discussed....

I wasn't here; my apologies.

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

We watched you on TV. You did a good job.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Oh, surely you had something better to do.

I was thinking of some of the work that was under way before the election, before the committees were dissolved. In particular, I was thinking of any work that was done on India and the relationship with India, and whether we can get that work going again.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Well, I think there again it's something that's certainly going to be on our agenda as we move into the fall. I don't think it's something that's going to be dropped.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

I would just--

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

I would certainly sense that we'd do it. I don't think there was an awful lot of work, from what I understand, on India, so....

Go ahead.

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

Mr. Chair, we were in the process of trying to plan committee travel to India. It didn't happen. We were unable to put it together.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

The clerk has just indicated to me that you had adopted a motion but he hadn't been able to do any work on it.

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

That's right.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Okay, fair enough; that's something we can pick up in the fall.

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

We've just approved two analysts for the committee. We could get them to work on outlining the croquis le rapport.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Well, I'm sure we can....

There was a motion of the last.... Did we want to give direction to pursue any information they can get on India?

[Alexandre Gauthier, Committee Researcher]

There was no meeting done on it. But that being said, we could look at some suggested themes, challenges, etc.

[An hon. member]

So moved.

[An hon. member]

Yes, some background on it.

[An hon. member]

Yes. I mean, it's--

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Okay. They'll prepare a briefing note for the committee when we come back in the fall.

Fair enough?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Very good.

With that, I don't see anybody needing anything else, so I'll call the meeting adjourned.