International Trade Committee on Nov. 22nd, 2016

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

I call the meeting to order.

We're going to start. We're in this special room today because we have everybody coming via teleconference, so the techies are getting that all straightened up for us.

I have just a couple of points. Number one is we have our schedule laid out for CETA for the next few days. I would like to send a notice to the independents that we're going to do clause-by-clause study on December 6. Does the committee agree? Can I do that?

I'm going to send it out to the independents so that they know we're doing clause by clause December 6. No problem?

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Do we have to tell them we're going to do clause-by-clause consideration, or do we just set the deadline for when they have to—

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

I think we have to tell them.

[Philippe Méla, Legislative Clerk]

We have to tell them deadlines and set the deadline also.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

We have to tell them and set the deadline.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Okay. You set the deadline for 48 hours from when it passes the House, so that can go out at that point in time, so 48 hours' notice is given. They have 48 hours from when it goes through the House at second reading.

No? It's not the way I understand it?

[Philippe Méla]

No, it's 48 hours...sorry.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

No, go ahead.

[Philippe Méla]

It's 48 hours before the start of clause-by-clause study.

You have to have the deadline for clause by clause to set the deadline for the amendments.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

Okay. There are no questions on that.

Go ahead, Ms. Ramsey.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Chair, I'd like to move my motion that I introduced on Tuesday, November 15.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

Okay, I think everybody knows the motion. Do you want to read it again?

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

No, I've read it into the record. I think we can go ahead.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

What do you want? Do you want to vote on it right now?

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

I'll speak to it a little.

Obviously there are a lot of folks who would like to come before us as witnesses. There are some voices that we aren't going to hear without an expansion of the meetings. We've agreed to one already in order to open that space for some folks, but we need to have this expanded.

The other piece is that it's unprecedented at the committee level to not receive written submissions.

Therefore, we need to open that up to be sent to the clerk, and there is a deadline here that has been set for no later than December 15. It's not a large window of time, but it is enough that Canadians will feel that the government and the committee are being transparent and open in allowing them to engage in that way.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

Are there any more comments before we vote?

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

I just want to get the record straight.

In the previous government, we did consultations in this committee. We did pre-study, and if you look at the negotiations themselves, everybody who wanted to be involved was involved. If they decided not to be involved, they did so by choice. This agreement has been telegraphed, it has been talked about, it has been in the media. It has been in all sorts of different venues, including committee meetings across Canada.

If you want to extend the meetings for 12 more meetings, you're going to hear the exact same thing that you heard previously. You're not going to get any new additional witnesses. All you're going to do is delay.

My advice is, at this point in time, I can't support this. I vote against it and—

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

Okay.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Chair, I'd like to—

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

I'll let you have the closing comments. If there are no comments from the Liberals, you can make your closing comments, and then we'll get to a vote, because we have people coming from all over.

Go ahead, Ms. Ramsey.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Yes, I'm surprised to hear that. I think that the Conservatives have been quite clear that they would like to allow people to be able to engage with the committee on other issues, so written submissions at the committee level....

The other thing that I've heard quite clearly from the opposition as well is the fact that this agreement has changed. There have been many changes to this agreement throughout the past year. We haven't discussed the implication of Brexit. We haven't had witnesses before us to talk about 42% of our trade that may or may not be accessible in this agreement past the hard Brexit.

I think there are outstanding concerns for environmentalists. We're not going to hear from any of them at the committee. Seniors groups have been wanting to engage on this around the cost of drugs, and what that will mean. I think there are other groups that would be interested in coming before us, as we heard last week. We had the Cattlemen's Association, and although they support the agreement, they have some serious concerns about accessibility to the market and are seeking amendments that would ultimately allow them to have more of those non-tariff barriers removed.

I think by limiting what we are able to hear around this new kind of ever-changing agreement in the past year, we limit democracy and Canadians' ability to engage with the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Mark Eyking]

Do we go with a show of hands, or does anyone want a recorded vote?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

I just want to make one more point, Mr. Chair.

We've been talking about it and we signed it in almost a month ago. I was wondering if the clerk has had a deluge of applications from people wanting to appear before the committee, other than the ones we've called.

[The Clerk of the Committee, Mr. Rémi Bourgault]

I have received many. I wouldn't say a deluge, because—

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Okay.