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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

Meeting No. 24

Monday, April 7, 2014

The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food met at 3:30 p.m. this day, in Room 253-D, Centre Block, the Chair, Bev Shipley, presiding.

Members of the Committee present: Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Hon. Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Bev Shipley and Bob Zimmer.

Acting Members present: Malcolm Allen for Randall Garrison and Jeff Watson for Randy Hoback.

Other Members present: Hon. Wayne Easter and Hon. Ralph Goodale.

In attendance: Library of Parliament: Frédéric Forge, Analyst ; Khamla Heminthavong, Analyst . House of Commons: David-Andrés Novoa, Legislative Clerk.

Witnesses: Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food: Greg Meredith, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch. Department of Transport: Lenore Duff, Director General, Surface Transportation Policy. Department of Justice: Sara Guild, Counsel, Agriculture and Food Inspection Legal Services; Demeena Kaur Seyan, Counsel, Agriculture and Food Inspection Legal Services; Alain Langlois, Senior Legal Counsel, Transport, Legal Services.

Pursuant to the Order of Reference of Friday, March 28, 2014, the Committee resumed consideration of Bill C-30, An Act to amend the Canada Grain Act and the Canada Transportation Act and to provide for other measures.

Greg Meredith, Alain Langlois and Lenore Duff answered questions.

The Committee commenced its clause-by-clause study of the Bill.

Pursuant to Standing Order 75(1), consideration of Clause 1, Short Title, was postponed.

The Chair called Clause 2.

Clause 2 carried.

Clause 3 carried.

Clause 4 carried.

On Clause 5,

Mark Eyking moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 5, be amended by replacing line 39 on page 2 with the following:

“including, but not limited to, provisions respecting the rights of grain producers to deliver grain to licensees in a timely manner, the fairness, accuracy and transparency of basis calculations affecting the price paid by licensees to grain producers at Prairie delivery points, and compensation”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Mark Eyking and it was negatived on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Mark Eyking, Francine Raynault — 4; NAYS: Earl Dreeshen, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 5.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 5, be amended by adding after line 3 on page 3 the following:

“(s.4) establishing a system of mandatory reporting, to the Commission, on the price at specified points throughout the movement of grain, including the delivery of grain to elevators, the discharge of grain from elevators, the handling and treating of grain in elevators, and the shipping of grain to or from elevators, as well as the price at port of export;”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Ruth Ellen Brosseau and it was negatived on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Mark Eyking, Francine Raynault — 4; NAYS: Earl Dreeshen, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 5.

Clause 5 carried by a show of hands: YEAS: 5; NAYS: 0.

On new Clause 5.1,

Pierre Lemieux moved, — That Bill C-30 be amended by adding before line 4 on page 3 the following:

“5.1 (1) Subsection 116(4) of the Canada Transportation Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (c):

(c.1) order the company to compensate any person adversely affected for any expenses that they incurred as a result of the company’s failure to fulfill its service obligations or, if the company is a party to a confidential contract with a shipper that requires the company to pay an amount of compensation for expenses incurred by the shipper as a result of the company’s failure to fulfill its service obligations, order the company to pay that amount to the shipper;

(2) Paragraph 116(4)(c.1) of the Act is repealed.”

Jeff Watson moved, — That the amendment be amended by replacing, in the French version, the words “de la de la” by the words “de la”.

The question was put on the subamendment of Jeff Watson and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 3; NAYS: 0.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Pierre Lemieux, as amended, and it was agreed to on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

The Chair ruled that the following two (2) amendments were consequential to the previous amendment and therefore they were also adopted:

That Bill C-30, in Clause 6, be amended by replacing line 4 on page 3 with the following:

“6. (1) The Act is”

That Bill C-30, in Clause 15, be amended by replacing line 1 on page 7 with the following:

“15. (1) Subsections 5.1(2),6(2), 7(2), 8(2), 9(2),”

On Clause 6,

Mark Eyking moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 6, be amended by replacing lines 19 and 20 on page 3 with the following:

“116.2 (1) Subject to volume demand, corridor capacity, and the reasonable car supply requirements of shortline rail operators, producer car shippers and domestic grain users, the Canadian National Rail-”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Mark Eyking and it was negatived on the following recorded division: YEAS: Mark Eyking — 1; NAYS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 8.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 6, be amended by replacing line 22 on page 3 with the following:

“way Company must each move at least 590,000”

Ruth Ellen Brosseau moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 6, be amended by adding after line 35 on page 3 the following:

“(2.1) For greater certainty, the Governor in Council shall, in making an order under subsection (2), specify a distribution of the volume of grain that ensures that affected regions receive equitable service.”

Ruth Ellen Brosseau moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 6, be amended by replacing line 11 on page 4 with the following:

“companies referred to in subsection (1), the producers in all affected regions and the”

Mark Eyking moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 6, be amended by replacing line 17 on page 4 with the following:

“year, and on the provisions that need to be made to provide a reasonable and consistent supply of grain cars to shortline rail operators, producer car shippers and domestic grain users. The Agency may also consult with any”

Clause 6, as amended, carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

On Clause 7,

Ruth Ellen Brosseau moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 7, be amended by replacing line 39 on page 4 with the following:

“(1.1) Despite subsection (1), the Agency shall, no later than one month after the coming into force of this subsection, make any regulations under paragraph (1)(c) that may be necessary in order to achieve the traffic of grain referred to in section 116.2 within the time period set out in that section. A regulation made under paragraph”

Clause 7 carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

On new Clause 7.1,

Ruth Ellen Brosseau moved, — That Bill C-30 be amended by adding after line 43 on page 4 the following new clause:

“7.1 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 128:

128.1 The Agency must, in consultation with the provincial governments, develop and implement a plan respecting open access running rights for the traffic of grain that would allow any railway company to run its trains on any other railway company's lines in exchange for reasonable compensation and that would ensure that competitive service options are available to shippers.”

On Clause 8,

Ruth Ellen Brosseau moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 8, be amended by replacing line 6 on page 5 with the following:

“for the purposes of paragraphs (1)(a) to (c), and requiring that the railway company or the shipper, as the case may be, implement those operational terms within 90 days after the day on which they are established by decision of the arbitrator.”

Mark Eyking moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 8, be amended by adding after line 6 on page 5 the following:

“(1.2) Without restricting the generality of the term referred to in this section, “service obligations” includes obligations in respect of

(a) the timeliness and frequency of the receiving and the delivery of traffic by the railway company;

(b) dwell times, estimated times of arrival, transit times and cycle times regarding the carriage of traffic;

(d) the furnishing of adequate and suitable accommodation for the carriage, unloading and delivering of the traffic;

(e) accommodation and facilities for the exchange of information regarding the billing, receiving, carriage and delivery of traffic; and

(f) car order fulfillment, car spotting performance and car placement at destination.

(1.3) For greater certainty, a railway company shall be considered to have fulfilled its service obligations if it has carried them out in a manner that meets the rail transportation needs of the shipper.

(1.4) Despite any other provision in this Act, in any arbitration under this section, the Agency shall, at the request of the shipper, include terms governing the manner in which the existence of a railway service failure will be determined and the manner in which damages or penalties are to be assessed and paid to the shipper for losses resulting from any such failure, provided that those terms are reciprocal in respect of obligation or performance failures on the part of the shipper.”

At 5:30 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 5:49 p.m., the sitting resumed.

Ruth Ellen Brosseau moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 8, be amended by adding after line 6 on page 5 the following:

“(1.2) The Agency may, for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), prescribe terms and conditions governing the interswitching of traffic that include prohibiting the delisting of specified producer car loading sites for specified periods of time.”

Clause 8 carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

On Clause 9,

Ruth Ellen Brosseau moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 9, be amended by replacing line 15 on page 5 with the following:

“is $250,000.”

Ruth Ellen Brosseau moved, — That Bill C-30, in Clause 9, be amended by adding after line 15 on page 5 the following:

“(4) The total amount of the penalties provided for in subsection (3) is to be paid into a compensation plan for producers administered by the Canadian Grain Commission.”

The Chair ruled the proposed amendment inadmissible because it infringed on the financial initiative of the Crown, as provided on pages 767-768 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition.

Clause 9 carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

Clause 10 carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

Clause 11 carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

Clause 12 carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

Clause 13 carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

Clause 14 carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

After debate, Clause 15, as amended, carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Earl Dreeshen, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 5; NAYS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Mark Eyking, Francine Raynault — 4.

Clause 1, Short Title, carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

The Title carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

The Bill, as amended, carried on the following recorded division: YEAS: Malcolm Allen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Earl Dreeshen, Mark Eyking, Pierre Lemieux, LaVar Payne, Francine Raynault, Jeff Watson, Bob Zimmer — 9; NAYS: — 0.

ORDERED, — That the Chair report the Bill, as amended, to the House.

ORDERED, — That Bill C-30, as amended, be reprinted for the use of the House at report stage.

At 6:25 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.

Jean Michel Roy
Clerk of the Committee

2014/04/10 10:34 a.m.