CIIT Committee Meeting

The Standing Committee on International Trade met at 9:05 a.m. this day, in Room 308, West Block, for the purpose of electing a Chair, pursuant to Standing Order 106(1).

On motion of Peter Julian, it was agreed, — That Lee Richardson be elected Chair of the Committee.

The Clerk of the Committee presided over the election of the Vice-Chairs.

On motion of Lee Richardson, it was agreed, — That John Cannis be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Claude Guimond, it was agreed, — That Serge Cardin be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Lee Richardson took the Chair.

It was agreed, — That the Committee retain the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament, as needed, to assist the Committee in its work and that these services may be requested at the discretion of the Chair.

Dean Allison moved, — That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence printed when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four (4) members are present, including one member from the government and one member of the opposition, and

That in the case of previously scheduled meetings taking place outside the Parliamentary precinct, the Committee members in attendance shall only be required to wait for 15 minutes following the designated start of the meeting before they may proceed to hear witnesses and receive evidence, regardless of whether opposition or government members are present.

Ron Cannan moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the word “four (4)” with the word “three (3)”.

Debate arose thereon.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Ron Cannan and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 5; NAYS: 6.

John Cannis moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the word “four (4)” with the word “three (3)” and deleting the words “one member from the government and”.

Debate arose thereon.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of John Cannis and it was agreed to.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence printed when a quorum is not present, provided that at least three (3) members are present, including one member of the opposition, and

That in the case of previously scheduled meetings taking place outside the Parliamentary precinct, the Committee members in attendance shall only be required to wait for 15 minutes following the designated start of the meeting before they may proceed to hear witnesses and receive evidence, regardless of whether opposition or government members are present.

John Cannis moved, — That only the Clerk of the Committee, with adequate notice, be authorized to distribute to the members of the Committee any documents, including motions, and that all documents which are to be distributed amongst the committee members must be in both official languages. The Clerk shall advise all witness appearing before committee of this requirement.

After debate, the question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.

On motion of Ed Holder, it was agreed, — Each Committee member in attendance shall be permitted to have one staff member attend at any in camera meetings and that in addition, each party shall be permitted to have one party staff member attend in camera meetings.

On motion of Mario Silva, it was agreed, — That in camera meetings be transcribed and that the transcription be kept with the Clerk of the Committee for later consultation by members of the Committee.

On motion of Mario Silva, it was agreed, — That the Committee hereby authorize the Clerk of the Committee, in consultation with the Chair, to make the necessary arrangements to provide for working meals.

On motion of Dean Allison, it was agreed, — That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses, not exceeding two (2) representatives per organization; and that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.

On motion of Richard M. Harris, it was agreed, — That the consideration and examination of any Bill (Government or Private Member’s Bill) which falls within the express mandate of the committee shall take precedence over any study or non-legislative examination other than questions of privilege and that in such circumstances the non-legislative study shall be deferred until such time as the Bill is reported back to the House.

On motion of John Cannis, it was agreed, — That forty-eight (48) hours notice shall be required for any substantive motion to be considered by the Committee; and that the motion shall be filed with the Clerk and distributed to members by the Clerk in both official languages.

Gerald Keddy moved, — That, for motions requiring forty-eight (48) hours’ notice, the Chair be authorized to defer consideration until 15 minutes prior to the adjournment time for the meeting as indicated in the Notice of the meeting.

Debate arose thereon.

After debate, the question was put on the motion and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 5; NAYS: 6.

On motion of Dean Allison, it was agreed, — That the witnesses from any one organization shall be allowed ten (10) minutes to make their opening statement and that during the questioning of witnesses, there shall be allocated seven (7) minutes for the 1st round of questioning and thereafter five (5) minutes shall be allocated to each questioner in the 2nd and subsequent rounds of questioning.

John Cannis moved, — That the order of questions for the 1st round of questioning shall be as follows: Liberal, Bloc, NDP, Conservative (CPC). Questioning during the 2nd round shall alternate between the Opposition members and Government members, in the following fashion: Liberal, Conservative, Bloc, Conservative, Liberal, Conservative, Conservative; based on the principle that each committee member should have a full opportunity to question the witness(es) and that if time permits, further rounds shall repeat the pattern of the first two at the discretion of the chair.

Peter Julian moved, — That the motion be amended by deleting the text after “as follows”and replacing it with “the official opposition, the Bloc, the NDP, and Government, the second round for five minutes, official opposition, Government, Bloc, NDP, the third round for five minutes, official opposition, Bloc, Government, NDP and the fourth round, for five minutes, official opposition, Government, Bloc, NDP”.

Debate arose thereon.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Peter Julian and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 1; NAYS: 8.

After debate, the question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.

Peter Julian moved, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of the Chair, and one member of each party.

Debate arose thereon.

John Cannis moved, — That the motion be amended by adding the following “to meet at the call of the Chair” after “from each party” .

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of John Cannis and it was agreed to.

After debate, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That a Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be be composed of the Chair, and one member of each party, to meet at the call of the Chair.

It was agreed, — That the Committee request a briefing from officials of the International Trade branch of DFAIT on February 10, 2009, during the first hour of which, they would provide an update on the work of DFAIT followed by a briefing on the free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in the second hour. Furthermore, that the Committee invite other witnesses on the EFTA free trade agreement, names of whom will be provided by members of the Committee, to appear on February 12, 2009 .

At 10:52 a.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.