Evidence of meeting #45 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 meeting.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Clerk of the Committee  Mr. Paul Cardegna

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

I'll call the meeting back to order.

We have some business. We want to give direction to the committee as we move into the fall session. Most of this is actually dealt with in our orders. The order of business we will be proceeding on, which takes precedence in committee, will be a piece of legislation that's before the committee: the Panama free trade agreement. But we do have a couple of other items that we want to talk to the committee about.

First of all, we have an official request from the foreign affairs committee, which also looks after international trade—from Iceland. They're visiting on October 1 and 2. It's October 2 that we want to talk about, as to whether we want to carve off a part of that meeting to sit with them. I would suggest the last half-hour. I have talked to the chair of international trade, who actually has his office here. It's a very nice office overlooking Parliament, and he's willing to open it up to have an informal reception after a bit of a formal meeting here, for maybe a half an hour, more for dialogue between the two. We could potentially host a small reception there for them as an act of appropriate hospitality.

You have a motion before you. We need a motion to actually carry that through. Is there any discussion on that?

Don.

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Actually, Mr. Chair, I was going to say that the committee business is set out in the orders. The first notice of motion is from Mr. Easter. There is no notice of motion for the meeting you've discussed.

I've just received the request from Iceland, but I would move that the motion by Mr. Easter be dealt with. It's the first item of business. I would so move that.

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

Okay. That's another motion on process. It is certainly the prerogative of the chair to take whichever issues out of the way first; we can certainly go to the other motions if that's what you'd like. I was doing it because these are issues that I didn't think were very contentious, and then we'd get into the motions, but....

You have a motion on the floor. It's non-debatable. So we will call for the vote on the motion to move to Mr. Easter's motion first. Is that what your motion is?

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Yes.

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

Okay. All in favour of that motion?

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Just for procedure's sake, Mr. Chairman, I was told that, unlike other committees, at this committee we require 48 hours' notice to put a motion on the table. I have no such motion from the Icelandic committee.... I mean, you can do that with unanimous consent, but—

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

That's true. It has to be unanimous consent on that one.

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Right.

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

I assumed we had that because it was non-contentious, I thought, but if you want to contend it we will bring it forward as a notice of motion—

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

You've moved to Mr. Easter. I just wanted to get the procedure straight.

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

Yes. The procedure.... You're—

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Okay. I understand correctly.

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

Okay. All in favour of the motion?

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Mr. Easter's motion?

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

Yes.

Opposed? I see a tie, so I'll break the tie and I will defeat the motion.

(Motion negatived)

We'll now move to Iceland, if there is no contention on that motion.

Is that your intent—to not have it put it forward?

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

No. I would not oppose the motion going forward, Mr. Chairman, but I'd want to speak to it briefly.

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

Yes. Go ahead.

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

I just want to make sure I understand it. I mean, just having received it this morning....

Do we have a date for that?

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

It will be October 2.

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

October 2?

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

Yes. We have a meeting that day from 3:30 to 5:30. I'm suggesting that for the last half-hour, from 5 to 5:30, we cut that time out for them as a bit of a sit-down, and then go into an informal setting, which I think would be an appropriate thing to do. Certainly, you can scrap that if you want. That's at the will of the committee.

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

I would just say that it would be nice to meet with their committee. We have a number of important issues to discuss. I want to wait and see what happens with the rest of the agenda, but I certainly don't have any objection to meeting with this committee. Because you plan on taking some committee time for this meeting in the next two weeks...?

3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

Okay. I'm not sure. Are you speaking against the idea of taking a half-hour of committee time? Is that what you're saying?

3:40 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Not in substance. I guess all I'm saying is that there are other motions that already deal with this time period, with what happens on October 2 and on the fourth and the other days—

September 18th, 2012 / 3:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield

Yes. Regardless of—