COOP Committee Meeting

Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.

For an advanced search, use Publication Search tool.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

Previous day publication Next day publication

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

Meeting No. 3

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

The Special Committee on Co-operatives met at 9:00 a.m. this day, in Room 268, La Promenade Building, the Chair, Blake Richards, presiding.

Members of the Committee present: Hon. Mauril Bélanger, Ray Boughen, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Brad Butt, Jacques Gourde, Dan Harris, Hélène LeBlanc, Pierre Lemieux, Joe Preston and Blake Richards.

Acting Members present: Cheryl Gallant for Jacques Gourde, Cheryl Gallant for LaVar Payne, Randy Hoback for LaVar Payne and Wayne Marston for Malcolm Allen.

In attendance: Library of Parliament: Mathieu Frigon, Analyst ; Khamla Heminthavong, Analyst ; Alexandre Lavoie, Analyst . House of Commons: Graeme Truelove, Co-Clerk of the Committee.

Witnesses: Gay Lea Foods Cooperative Ltd.: Michael Barrett, Chief Operations Officer. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada: Claude Carrière, Associate Deputy Minister. Department of Industry: John Connell, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Sector. Credit Union Central of Canada: Stephen Fitzpatrick, Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer. Farmers of North America: Bob Friesen, Vice-President, Government Affairs, Chief Executive Officer, Farmers of North America Strategic Agriculture Institute. Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada: Nicholas Gazzard, Executive Director, National Office. Canadian Co-operative Association: Denyse Guy, Executive Director. Co-operators Group: Frank Lowery, Senior Vice-President, Senior Counsel and Secretary. Department of Finance: Jeremy Rudin, Assistant Deputy Minister, Financial Sector Policy Branch. Ontario Mutual Insurance Association: John Taylor, President. Canadian Bankers Association: Marion Wrobel, Vice-President, Policy and Operations.

Pursuant to the Order of Reference of Wednesday, May 30, 2012, and the motion adopted by the Committee on Tuesday, June 19, 2012, the Committee commenced its study of the status of co-operatives in Canada.

Claude Carrière made a statement and, with John Connell and Jeremy Rudin, answered questions.

At 10:00 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 10:05 a.m., the sitting resumed.

Denyse Guy, Marion Wrobel and Stephen Fitzpatrick made statements and answered questions.

At 11:34 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 12:50 p.m., the sitting resumed.

John Taylor, by videoconference from St. Catharines, Ontario, Nicholas Gazzard and Frank Lowery made statements and answered questions.

At 2:15 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 2:28 p.m., the sitting resumed.

Bob Friesen and Michael Barrett made statements and answered questions.

At 4:00 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 4:07 p.m., the sitting resumed in camera.

The Committee proceeded to the consideration of matters related to Committee business.

It was agreed, — That, in relation to its study on the status of co-operatives in Canada, the Committee be granted an operational budget of $96,400 and that the said budget be presented to the Board of Internal Economy.

It was agreed, — That briefs submitted to the Committee in relation to its study on the status of co-operatives in Canada be no longer than five pages in length and submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. (EDT), on Tuesday, August 7, 2012.

It was agreed, — That meetings of the Committee be televised.

It was agreed, — That the Committee do now adjourn.

At 4:56 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.

Paul Cardegna
Co-Clerk of the Committee

2013/01/24 2:10 p.m.